Professor Arc
by Coeur Al'Aran
Summary: He didn't know the first thing about teaching, Hell, he didn't even know the first thing about fighting! A shame then, that his forged documents painted the picture of an accomplished and skilled warrior. Now he's trapped teaching students his own age how to be hunters, when he doesn't even know himself! "This can't be too hard right... heh... who am I kidding, I'm screwed."
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, Coeur Al'aran once more. I'd just like to say that the publishing of this by no means suggests any delays in "One Good Turn," I've already started planning the next chapter of that and will hopefully have it up before Christmas.**

**This was basically a dream I had two nights ago, which amused me so much that I decided I had to pen it down, perhaps as a one-shot. If it generates enough interest I'll continue it as a story alongside "One good Turn"**

**So if you would like it to continue please drop me a review to let me know, and suggest any pairings or ideas you might have as well. It would be written mostly as humour. Elements of Romcom as well.**

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><p>A Slight Oversight<p>

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><p>Jaune Arc was in trouble.<p>

Serious trouble, in fact. He was probably going to jail… or maybe worse... Fraud, deceit? Other allegations he didn't know the name of, but was sure existed? Once again Lady Luck had taken one good look at Jaune Arc, and thrown up all over him.

It had all seemed like such a fantastic idea at first too. Beacon Academy was the premier school for hunters, the best of the best went there, and those that graduated went on to be successful and famous hunters – and then became heroes.

He'd always wanted to become a hero, but like most children he'd whittled away his younger years dreaming and playing, only to find that he wasn't fit enough to enter Signal. And now, because he didn't have the training from signal – he wasn't skilled enough to enter Beacon. It was such an unfair conspiracy!

It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent, or hard-working. He was willing to train for hours if need be… the problem was that he had started too late in his life. Deciding he wanted to become a hunter at the age of twelve that had left around six months for him to train for the Signal entrance exams. Of course he hadn't been fit enough… even with a gruelling regime, what could be achieved in just six months!?

He hadn't given up though, he'd trained hard, studied even harder. But there was no real substitute for four years intense training at a combat school, and it showed. When it had come to the time to send his credentials in for the Beacon admission he hadn't even hesitated.

To cheat.

Oh he'd learned his lesson from Signal alright, better to seek forgiveness than ask permission, there was _no_ way he would get into Beacon without a formal education in combat so he'd saved up some money and sought out the aid of a… well… a less than reputable individual, who was skilled in forgery. And Gods, it had been expensive too!

The documents were brilliant though, painting a believable and impressive history that was enough to make him stand out, but not too much. He'd even tested it at a Bank, and been able to open an account using it – so he knew it was good.

He could still remember the advice the guy had given him as well. _Remember kid, the best lies have a grain of truth in them – but if you can't use the truth, just tell so many lies that they can only dig through the top layer._ _Hide lies under more lies._

He'd been so damn confident this would work…

Which was why his world had come crashing down when he had received a personal invitation for an interview with the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Headmaster Ozpin.

_I'm screwed. Of course he saw through it, and now he wants to ask why I did this before he arrests me._

In fact he was so sick with worry that he had unintentionally managed to survive the Bullhead trip to the Academy itself without vomiting. That might have also had something to do with the fact that he hadn't eaten in over sixteen hours as well…

Nervously he tugged at the collar of his hoodie and readjusted his armour. He wasn't sure why he had come armed to the teeth to this meeting, he certainly wouldn't be able to fight his way out of this. But the clothing did provide him some small level of confidence. He could at least look the part.

_Confidence… that's all I can rely on right now. But Dad did always say that confidence can be all you need in some situations._

That advice was all he had to trust, as the door to the Bullhead slowly groaned open, revealing the tall spires of Beacon Academy to his eyes. It was beautiful… Everything he had imagined it to be when he had dreamed of attending when he was younger. He savoured the sight before letting out the sigh of the damned and walking purposefully down the ramp towards the blonde figure waiting for him.

It was a woman of indiscernible age, with blonde hair and a stern expression that screamed disciplinarian. One arm was held at her side, pinning a number of books to her hip, while her other hand held what appeared to be a riding crop.

"I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Jaune greeted in as calm a voice as he could, making sure to keep his eyes fixed on her green orbs as he held a single hand out in greeting. Internally his mind was screaming at him to run, but he stuck to the confident and self-assured persona his forged records suggested he had. _Time to go down fighting!_

The woman nodded back once, reaching forward to shake his hand briefly still keeping the crop in hand as she did so. She didn't smile at him, but her green eyes didn't show any anger either – which was probably a good sign.

"Indeed, thank you for coming Mr Arc. I am Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress and a teacher here. I hope Professor Ozpin's summons was not too sudden."

"Of course not, I was happy to have a chance to see Beacon in person." Jaune replied easily as he offered the woman a smile. He had to resist the urge to let it die an ugly death when she stared back at him, simply quirking an eyebrow. "If you're to escort me to meet the Professor, will you let me help you with those books?"

"Oh. Yes, thank you Mr Arc." The woman accepted with a slightly surprised expression before she could hide it. Jaune took half of the books with a hidden grin, glad that his attempt to distract her had worked. Only a few books, but a gentleman was always polite with ladies, no matter their station. "If you will follow me, I will show you to Ozpin." She turned away from him as he quickly stepped in to walk beside her.

"Thank you Mrs Goodwitch."

"Miss, actually." She corrected as the two of them passed under a stone arch and into what looked to be a large round plaza with a fountain in the centre.

"Really? Oh, I mean - sorry!" Jaune apologised, making sure to add a little fake surprise to his voice. He wasn't surprised at all she wasn't married, since she looked too damn scary and unapproachable for most men. Even if he was closer to her age he didn't think he would have the stones to talk to her. "I didn't mean to assume."

"Don't worry about it Mr Arc." The woman urged with what actually looked to be the slightest beginnings of a smile on her face. Barely there for a moment before she mercilessly killed it. Still, it was a start.

_Okay – okay, think Jaune. Disciplinarian, apparently strict and is a headmistress. So be polite, formal, flattering – but don't even think about flirting. She helps run a school for young adults, no doubt she gets way too much of that attention as it is…_

It was definitely important to stay on the good side of anyone here.

"If I might ask, Miss Goodwitch? Do you know why Professor Ozpin wants to meet with me? I'm afraid he didn't explain very much when he called me."

And what a harrowing call it had been. Completely out of the blue, and he'd been too damn scared to ask many questions of the white haired man. He'd been able to only just get out that he would be able to make the appointment, and confirm the Bullhead arrival time. He'd then spent the next week in a panicked agony… and now here he was.

"I do know Mr Arc, but I'm not at liberty to tell you just yet. I believe Ozpin would like to meet with you first. I _am_ sorry." No real expression on her face beyond the stern expression he was beginning to believe was standard for her, but the inflection she put on her apology suggested she _was_ in fact a little sorry she could not tell him. At the very least it provided a little more confidence for him.

If this was to throw the evidence of his forgery in his face, then she certainly wouldn't be this polite with him – and definitely wouldn't apologise for keeping things secret from him. If she was as stern as her expression, dress and mannerisms suggested… and Jaune was _very_ sure of his first impressions here. Then she would be _furious_ if she knew he had forged his documents.

Did this mean they didn't know they were fake!?

Was he going to get away with this?

"Don't worry about it then." He laughed, waving off the issue as he tugged at his jeans. "I'm just worried that I'm a little under-dressed for the occasion."

"Not to worry Mr Arc, we understand that for a person of your calibre, you would come to such a meeting armed. It can be difficult to put hunting the Grimm aside, even for more experienced people."

His calibre… yeah. But at least his records had proven themselves it seems, if she honestly believed was some kind of hotshot hunter-in-training. That took a lot of the stress off his shoulders, especially if this was just some kind of acceptance interview, or maybe they interviewed all the students before deciding to accept them? Had he panicked over nothing?

"Ah, here we are. Professor Ozpin is awaiting us inside." Two large doors opened slowly as the woman walked into the room, letting Jaune follow behind her as he admired the decor. From the view through the huge windows he would tell this was the central spire of the academy, apparently the Headmaster's personal office.

Apart from a large desk and a few bookcases, the room was rather bare. He had honestly imagined something more from a man as powerful, and no doubt wealth, as the headmaster of Beacon. But perhaps this was just to create an image, the man's personal quarters could be lavish.

"Greetings Mr Arc." The man stood behind the desk commented, dressed in an immaculate green suit, and sipping on a large mug of some hot beverage. Even if Jaune had not recognised him as the man who had called him recently, he would have known Ozpin by his fame and distinctive white hair. Swallowing his nervousness, Jaune strode towards the desk and held his hand out over the polished wood, his blue eyes staring into brown. A hysterical part of Jaune's mind commented that Ozpin's hair seemed quite similar in design to his own.

"A pleasure headmaster." He kept his hand steady, waiting as the man seemed to take a long sip of his drink, before putting it down and grasping Jaune's hand in a firm shake. Glynda stepped forwards to take the books Jaune was carrying from him, as he sat down across from the headmaster. The woman then walked around the desk to stand beside, but slightly behind, the headmaster. Jaune waited for them to speak, not saying anything as the man took another long drink of what Jaune could now identify as coffee.

"Well then Mr Arc, thank you for coming to this meeting." Jaune nodded but didn't say anything. This man was definitely far above himself in terms of experience and knowledge, and Jaune knew about dealing with people like that, if you didn't know the correct response – then _stay quiet._

"I received your application for entrance as a student of Beacon Academy, and have had some time to look over your records." Once more he paused here as he fished out some pieces of paper from a drawer in his desk, taking another long drink. Jaune schooled his expression into a calm facade, despite the frantic hammering of his heart in his chest.

"Quite the glowing recommendations you come with Mr Arc. Trained for four years at the Vacuo Academy for Gifted Youths, before staying on to begin your formal Hunter Education. You would be 20 years old now, correct?"

"That's right." Jaune lied, trusting the forged documents with all his heart. It had been an important move to have him listed as three years older than he was so that he could fit in. The various hunter academies kept in close contact, so it would be clearly obvious if he claimed to be from one and they checked the records against their database… All except for one school… since it had been destroyed by the Grimm three years ago.

"I've heard of many survivors of the attack there… most did not continue their career as Hunters." The Vacuo Academy for the Gifted had been a famous school, and one of the only schools that could train hunters from their first entry at 13, right through to their graduation at 21. It had been attacked and destroyed by the Grimm three years ago though, and most of the records had been lost with it. The fraudster had made sure to explain that to Jaune, along with the importance of sticking with the story.

"I can understand why. It took me over two years to recover from that. I am hoping you will not let my age work against me in this regard." That had been one of his man concerns, that they would refuse him because his records now said he was 20, above the usual starting age.

"Of course not Mr Arc." The man replied back with a small smile. "Three years is not so much time in the grand scheme of things, and it would be a shame to see such talent wasted. My concern is quite the opposite in fact Mr Arc." At this he pushed across some of the papers to Jaune, showing him statistics he had long since memorised.

Valedictorian, skilled fighter, excellent tactical skills and a strong grasp of theory. A team leader with unparalleled empathy for his team, able to motivate people to work as cohesive groups, even in the worst of situations. His records even claimed he had a few missions under his belt. Some taken during his time in Vacuo, others during the three year break afterwards.

He couldn't claim he'd just sat around for three years, so his records painted a picture of a man who had done his best to evacuate the other students, and fought to protect them. He'd also done some freelance work for villages that could not afford a hunter, or who needed help immediately.

All falsified.

"If I may be frank Mr Arc." The man spoke, as a grin formed on his features. Meanwhile Jaune's spirits fell in sudden terror. "I think you're _too_ qualified to be a student here."

_Huh!?_

"You have the skills and credentials to be a hunter right now, so might I ask why you wish to be a student once more?"

Oh Gods, he hadn't expected this… that they might reject him for being too good. Or that they might think it's too suspicious for such a skilled man to want to lower himself to the level of a student.

"I… need the qualification." Jaune tried as he slumped in his seat. "Skills aside, a lot of doors are closed to a person who has not graduated from a school for hunters. I want to prove to myself, and others, that I deserve to be a hunter."

"A worthy goal indeed, and I would never consider denying a hunter his dues. But here in Beacon we assign students into teams of four. You must understand Mr Arc, that someone of your ability would overshadow his team and might lead to them not developing into proud hunters as they should…"

Jaune couldn't help but feel a small thrill of panic shoot through him, not out of fear that he would be rejected. In fact the man had as clear as said he would help Jaune get into Beacon… but what if he was assigned to no team, and instead left on his own!? That would be a disaster! He didn't have the skills to survive as a one man team and would be publically humiliated and ridiculed in front of the entire student body… If he didn't just die first.

"If I might ask, and I do not wish to bring back difficult memories. But how did you cope with the grief of losing people in Vacuo?"

"It's difficult." Jaune hedged, delaying so he could think of a story to tell, while the two teachers waited patiently. "My team was killed and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Beyond that, many of our friends and colleagues were dying as well."

The two adults seemed sympathetic as he paused to think of more excuses. He couldn't afford to paint himself as a traumatised youth, or they might ask him to undertake counselling. At the same time to suggest he was just _over_ it would come across as incredibly convenient.

"Those of us who survived banded together though. People are stronger together and we helped each other when we felt down. I'd had two years to come to terms with what happened and I want to move on, if you'll let me."

_Put the onus for the decision in their hands, use guilt!_ Underhanded though it might be, he'd come too far to back out now, this was all or nothing.

"Wise words indeed. What do you think Glynda?" The Headmaster asked as he leaned back in his seat with a wide smile on his face. Jaune turned to look at the woman who had escorted him here, noticing the sad look on her face which she quickly hid.

"I think I agree with your decision Headmaster. Mr Arc will be good for the students here."

He was in!? He'd done it?

"I think we'll be happy to welcome you to Beacon Academy Mr Arc." Professor Ozpin congratulated, pushing a sheet of paper and pen across to Jaune, which he picked up to inspect.

"A contract for employment?" He blurted out with some confusion, as he flicked through the various pages, seeing nothing but huge amounts of text and regulations.

"You're too qualified to be a student here Mr Arc, but you have just what we need for a Support Teacher at Beacon Academy." Jaune barely heard the man, his eyes flicking over the front page. A teacher, him!? Oh Gods, this was a disaster. Forget forging his way as a student, this was about ten times worse. He was going to be forging his way into employment!

And he didn't know enough about being a hunter! He could barely fight, Good Gods, his students would be able to beat him up! He was going to be roughed up by his own students… in front of everyone!

"I have no experience teaching…" He couldn't help but stammer out, only for his new hope to be crushed as the blonde deputy stepped forwards.

"I will be helping you with that Mr Arc." She replied as she nodded to him. "You will have your own classes, but we will do some training a few days before the term starts, and you can sit in on some of my lessons as well. You will be up to standard for this, don't worry."

Oh that wasn't his worry at all. His worry was more along the lines of humiliation, followed by an inquiry – maybe finished up with a lengthy jail term.

"Your responsibilities would be helping other teachers with their workload, monitoring some lessons. Perhaps in some advanced cases shadowing teams on missions as well. You might have your own classes in a few months, but they would be irregular subjects."

"Can you give me an example of what subjects you might be thinking?" Jaune asked, half to give him more time to think up excuses, but also so that he could get some bloody studying in on whatever subjects those were!

"I have long wanted to offer a course for those who have experienced loss or difficult missions. Perhaps on coping in stressful situations, or simply camping. They would be optional courses, and you wouldn't be required to grade or offer exams."

Okay that didn't sound so bad… if they weren't graded then arguably there was no way to prove he couldn't do the job, was there?

He wanted to refuse. To explain that he had applied as a student and wanted to become one, be a part of a team… but that wasn't what Jaune Arc, survivor of Vacuo, would do… he was a leader, a man with standards and confidence, who had survived where others had died. Anything else could reveal him as a fraudster.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice do I?" Jaune joked to the two, while internally his mind screamed in agonised pain.

"Welcome to Beacon, Professor Arc."

_Fuck my life._

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><p><strong>Well there we go. A few quick answers. I made Jaune claim he was 20 just to give him an age advantage on the other students – even if it is a fake one. He is 17 as per the normal series. I got to thinking about what his records might say… they had to be good to get him in if he didn't go to a prep school like Signal. But if they said he was THAT good… why would he even need Beacon anyway?<strong>

**My future vision for this if I did continue it might see it as a Humour/Romance, with a (and I normally hate this) harem approach. He would not "have" multiple partners, but would have multiple girls interested in him. As a teacher he obviously cannot "openly" date any of them, leading to frustration and hijinks.**

**I also thought of Ozpin making him a student councillor on the side. I do apologise for Jaune basically lying about people dying to further his own agenda. I wanted to show how building a foundation out of lies, can end up with you being stuck inside if you're not careful.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Merry Christmas to everyone, here is my gift to you all! To the many people who reviewed, thank you all. It was humbling to get so much appreciation for the story - as well as support to continue the story. I didn't actually realise there were other stories with the same premise, but maybe they are all God-like Jaune stories, which I'm not into.**

**Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as your Christmas day. Please if you like, or have suggestions, leave me a review!**

**I would just like to pre-empt what people might see as poor grammar. In efforts to recreate the way a certain FAST-speaking person talks in RWBY... I have tried to make everything he says flow in a way that is difficult to read. Almost as difficult as it would be to understand in real life. I will try to make sure it is not obnoxious though, but if it IS actually annoying to read like that, let me know so I can make him different in future chapters.**

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><p>Doomsday Approaches<p>

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><p>"Wow, it sure pays to be a teacher." Jaune mumbled to himself as he looked around his new quarters, which were adjoined to his small office. The Headmaster had apparently thought that since he was a support teacher who might be called into any role on short notice, that it made sense to have his office and living quarters connected. Jaune had been quick to agree, knowing that if the man had claimed that new teachers wore pumpkins on their heads, he probably would have done it so as not to appear suspicious.<p>

He just hadn't expected it to be so spacious! He had a decent sized bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, along with a kitchen-living room combination separated by a counter with two stools pulled up against it. The living area consisted of little more than a couch with a low laying coffee table and a decent-sized television, but it was still much more than he was used to at home. What's more, the fridge and cupboards were well stocked with a variety of meats and food.

It was almost enough to distract him from what today actually was. Today was to be his first official day of employment, and what was worse, the students were expected to arrive for within the next eight hours or so... though thankfully the mysterious initiation was not until the following day. Miss Goodwitch had been quick to assure him that the initiation would take the entire day, and that any teaching that might be required was still a good two days away. Still though...

Where was the training he had been promised!?

Idly his eyes fell on a small card that sat perched on the coffee table where he had laid it earlier, and the guilt that came along with it hit him like a mallet.

Congratulations on your new job! It was filled with kind and loving words, not only from his mother and father - who had been shocked but ecstatic that he had landed such a good job. But also from his sisters who pretty much had expected him to be a bum all his life. Such faith, and yet probably rightfully deserved.

_We're so proud of you!_ He could remember the look on his mother's face as he told her what had happened. Oh, he'd made some alterations to the tale. As far as they knew he was going to be teaching at a combat school teaching younger teenagers, but the gist of the job had been the same. So maybe the lie wasn't _that_ bad?

"Who am I kidding, I'm going straight to Hell."

Still his parents had been supportive and helpful, and had even taken him out shopping for supplies as a gift to him. Hence the new coat he was wearing that crossed over his breast-plated chest and swept down to the back of his knees. It wasn't a fashion statement though... one of the concerns that Jaune had given to his parents was that the _fourteen _year old students he was going to be teaching wouldn't give him full respect since he was so young. His mother had suggested dressing to make himself look older, and just not _mentioning_ his age to any of them.

So he knew where he got the lying from anyway.

Either way she had chosen the dark blue coat because it apparently accentuated his height, and also hid his chest and arms from view. She said most people would just see the sword and shield, along with the coat and armour - and assume him to be a lot more buff than he actually was beneath it all. He'd taken the obvious dig in stride and agreed with the decision. He couldn't say he felt, or looked, any older - but maybe it would work on other people.

"Mr Arc, may I come in?" A recognisable female voice asked from outside the doors to his quarters. Jaune quickly walked over and opened it to reveal the stern face of Glynda Goodwitch.

"Ah. Good morning Miss Goodwitch, come in." He beckoned with his arm, stepping back to let her into the room. He tried not to pay attention to the way her green eyes quickly snapped left and right to inspect the room, before settling on himself once more.

"A new fashion statement Mr Arc?"

"It was a suggestion from a friend, to help me look a little older in the eyes of the students." So it totally wasn't _his_ fault if it was against the rules or anything, he didn't add.

"Ah I see. Are you worried about teaching students so close to your age?" Her voice and face were calm as she asked the question, and he wasn't able to tell if it was some kind of trap.

"Just concerned." He diverted instead. "I don't doubt my ability, but am a little concerned that some of the students might rebel against the idea. Hence my wanting to appear a little older than I actually am." That sounded like something an ideal teacher would say, didn't it? All he had to do was make every decision, and say everything - as if the welfare of his students was the most important thing in the world to him.

"I can understand that." Miss Goodwitch accepted as she shuffled some books onto his counter. "Don't worry so much about it though, as a support teacher you will be teaching in conjunction with myself or others. If they fail to show you the proper respect, they will soon learn the error of their ways."

_Aww..._ He couldn't help but coo to himself as he simply nodded his thanks to her. That was actually a pretty sweet and supportive thing to say, which surprised him since it was coming from such a stern-looking woman.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Is that material for me to look over?" That certainly did look like a lot of material, at least six tomes worth as well as a number of stapled sheets of paper set to one side.

"This is the course syllabus for Professor Port's Grimm studies class, as well as Professor Oobleck's history class. The Headmaster has decided you will work with those two teachers, as well as myself. I've also included some books on teacher training for you to look through. As well as a few … tips... I thought to write down myself." The woman hesitated as she said this, before showing him the printed paper which seemed to entail three full pages of written text in elegant handwriting.

"You went to so much effort for me, thank you so much." He flattered as he took the pages and glanced over them. They seemed to be mostly focused on how to keep order and discipline teenagers in class. For a moment he felt incredibly awkward that she had effectively handed him tips on just how to punish people... but then again the other things were probably covered in the books.

"It's no problem." The Deputy waved away, though there was the tiniest hint of pink on her cheeks at his honest praise.

"No, this is wonderful Gly- Miss Goodwitch." This was _exactly_ what he needed to have a chance here. What's more, she had perhaps inadvertently told him exactly what he would be helping with, and provided him the syllabus ahead of time! All he would need to do was see what they were covering in an upcoming class, and memorise everything on that subject and he would be fine.

"I suppose you can call me Glynda outside of the student's hearing." The blonde interrupted his thoughts as she turned away from him while speaking. Why was she looking away from him? "You can probably get away with calling most other teachers by their names, or simply their title."

"Thank you then, Glynda. I hope you'll call me Jaune as well?"

"Of course Mr Arc." She replied, apparently not quite able to address him so casually. "I do apologise that I won't be able to offer you more, one-on-one, training. But with the students arriving today..."

"Yes, initiation. I had heard of it, is there anything you need me to do to help with that?" He certainly hoped not, he was already on limited time and he didn't even know _what_ the initiation was yet.

"No, no. But thank you Mr Arc. We have that all covered for now... I think it might be best if you simply looked to read as much of that material as you can. I'll have someone come and collect you before the first Bullheads arrive. I think it would be best for your credibility if you were seen immediately alongside the other teachers."

"I understand." He accepted with glee. Perfect. Now just to get rid of Glynda so he could have as much time to read as possible and get ready. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all. I will see you later then Mr Arc." And with that she was gone. Slipping out of his room before he could so much as offer her a goodbye. _Man, she's a weird cookie... but still, she saved my bacon!_

Now all he had to do was read as much of this as he could, right?

_Nghhh..._

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><p><em>Captain's log, day thirty. More history... The General leads his troops in a surprise raid on the faunus of Fort Castle... huge casualties because he forgets they have perfect night vision - hey, that sounds useful. <em>Jaune's face was half laid on the couch's armrest, with his hands propping a history book in front of him. Bloodshot eyes, along with a beautiful set of designer bags hanging beneath them.

The clock said it had only been around six hours.

The clock must be working with the enemy.

_Where is your confidence now Jaune Arc?_ An evil voice taunted in his mind, half-heartedly he recognized it as his self-esteem, which had long since betrayed him. _You have to do this for the next four years!_

Arms finally gave way as the book slapped into his face with a satisfying sound of leather on flesh. Instead of attempting to remove it he simply let out a distressed groan into the pages. There was so much to cover... and so much to remember.

He'd learned the types of Grimm most common to Vale, as well as their general appearance, behaviour and threat levels. He'd also done his best to memorise whatever he could on weaknesses and how to fight them. Weirdly it looked like the syllabus for Professor Port's class just entitled a thing called "story time." But he imagined that was theoretical book learning or something.

Oobleck's class though... oh Gods... history. How could the man possibly cover so much history so quickly in his lesson plans? That was ridiculous! He was honestly going to cover the entire faunus rights revolution in his first lesson? Wasn't that like ten years of history? He would have to teach at like 60mph to have any chance of getting that across in time.

But he hadn't dared to take the risk.

Faunus Rights Revolution... learned. Gods...

He'd also had a few small chances to read through the teacher training, though he wasn't close to finishing that. He had figured it would be safer to be knowledgeable on the course material and fail as a teacher - than to show his hand so early and not know what was surely basic knowledge.

Besides, he still had tonight when he was supposed to be sleeping. Their timetables ended at around six in the afternoon, and Jaune honestly didn't _have_ anything to do in his free time. Sure, his parents were keen to hear from him after his first lessons, but that would be little more than a ten minute call. That left almost six hours of studying a night, if he just aimed for six hours sleep.

_Six hours studying a night... is it still too late to get arrested?_

Any morose thoughts were quickly banished by a frantic knocking on his door, neither stopping or slowing in pace as he staggered to his feet and sluggishly ambled his way over.

"Yes?" He gasped out as he pulled the door open to reveal a bespectacled man in a white shirt with a bright yellow tie and … green hair?

_Argh my eyes! The clash burns!_

"Professor Arc, I presume!" The man rattled out, and rattled was definitely the correct term, Jaune thought to himself. Because what should have contained a number of syllables seemed to come out in barely three seconds. He just barely caught the meaning.

"That is myself, are you one of the other staff?" It was an easy guess since Miss Goodwitch had told him she would send someone to collect him. Was it that time already?

"Capital, yes! I am Doctor Oobleck, Professor of History at Beacon as well as resident expert on Grimm movements and studies at the school. A pleasure to make your acquaintance I hope we will have plenty of time to learn about each other as you assist me with teaching but for now we must make our way to the main foyer to welcome this year's aspiring hunters and huntresses who will hopefully become the future protectors of the people of Vale."

"Sounds good?" Jaune guessed, not actually having caught the majority of what was being said, but knowing that if he simply agreed it would probably be for the best.

"Capital! Let us be off."

"H-hey, Wait!" He shouted out as the man zipped from the room, easily outpacing Jaune as he struggled to strap his sword into place while locking the doors behind him. He just caught sight of a green glimpse vanishing around the corner as he sprinted after the man.

_What kind of teacher acts like this!?_ He shouted in his mind as he span around the corner, once more barely glimpsing the Professor vanishing down another corridor. And wasn't it ironic that he was criticisng a trained and proven teacher in the first place?

"Doctor Oobleck, please slow down!" He called out as his body ached, unable to continue the grueling pace set by the older man. Fatigue mixed with a general lack of stamina eventually caused him to lose the Professor as Jaune came to a stop against a wall, his hand propping himself up as he panted to himself in exhaustion.

As if to make matters worse he could faintly hear the sounds of Bullheads approaching the Academy, no doubt bringing the new students which he was supposed to be visible in front of.

_Damn that stupid hyperactive excuse for an adult, what the Hell!?_

Now he was certainly going to get it from Goodwitch, and on the first day as well.

Still. He wasn't a child anymore. Apparently, anyway. So he couldn't just sit there and wait to be found by a teacher, similarly he hadn't thought to actually act for the contact numbers of the other staff. He would just need to make his way to where the others probably were.

_Think, Arc... surely it would be the same place you landed at... Beacon Academy is mostly a circle, so if I can find my way outside, then I can make my way to the central plaza._

The problem was, he couldn't see any way to actually get outside, bar climbing through a nearby window.

...

_In for a penny..._

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><p>Things had not been going well for Ruby Rose. Two years younger than everyone else at Beacon and already abandoned by the one person she thought she could rely on the most. From there she had caused some kind of explosion with a crabby girl and generally been abandoned to lay on her back in the middle of an empty pathway by the rest of the student body.<p>

_Yep! Great way to start my life here..._

"Hey there, you okay?" A masculine voice asked from outside of her vision, causing her to sit up on her rear and look around. Standing not two feet to her left was what looked to be another student, smiling at her. That was a good sign, right!?

"Hey." She shyly greeted back, wondering why he had actually come to her when she was laying on the ground like some kind of weirdo. He looked nice enough, with hair a similar shade to Yang's but bright blue eyes. He was really tall though, easily topping six feet in height, and he looked almost a little intimidating too with that heavy-looking coat. If it wasn't for the gentle look in his eyes she might have been too nervous to respond to him.

"Let's get you up." He simply said as he offered a hand to her, hoisting her onto her feet with a single tug. Ruby quickly let go of his hand and stepped backwards in mild embarrassment. This wasn't exactly how she had planned to make her first impressions at Beacon.

"Thanks, I'm Ruby." She greeted instead, shaking her head quickly in an attempt to dispel the nerves she was feeling. "Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you."

"Jaune. Jaune Arc. What were you doing laid in the middle of the plaza like that?"

"Ugh..." Oh damn, he wasn't meant to ask that. Didn't he realise it was probably better to ignore the clearly stupid position he had found her in!? "I guess I just needed to relax for a bit?" She attempted with a weak grin.

"Right..." He didn't sound convinced.

"Ugh. Okay, I had a pretty bad start and I was just being dramatic. Can we just ignore how you found me?" Her shyness was forgotten as she huffed in annoyance, but the action instead of insulting him - seemed to make him laugh. Internally she smiled as well, hey this wasn't so hard after all!

"Okay, okay. You shouldn't worry though. It's your first day, I'm sure you will be fine. I'm a little lost as well, maybe we can both help each other find the rest?"

"Sure!" Ruby chirped, inwardly clapping herself on the back for actually making a friendly acquaintance on her first try. Even if it was purely luck that he had been another lost student like herself. "I didn't see where the others went though..."

"Just follow me, we'll head to the main hall." He seemed to know where he was going, which was lucky since she didn't want to get lost and miss initiation. Wouldn't that just be humiliating, the youngest girl to ever enter Beacon kicked out before she could even begin. Yeah, sounded great. Go down in the history books, whoo!

"So... uh... I've got this thing." Ruby offered in an attempt to fill the silence that was forming between the two of them, jumping ahead of him and deploying her baby for him to marvel at. As usual his reaction was of immediate surprise, or awe as she preferred to call it. "This is Crescent Rose, a high impact customisable sniper rifle!"

"And a... scythe?" Jaune asked in apparent amazement. To which she nodded in pride.

"That's right. I made her myself at Signal, she's called Crescent Rose and she's the best weapon in the world." She rubbed one hand up its shaft as she said that, with a fond look in her eyes.

"Yeah... that's impressive."

"So. What you got?" She asked, eager to know what weapon her potential new friend used. It wouldn't be as epic as Crescent Rose of course, but she was still confident it would be a good weapon, and she definitely wouldn't insult him by drawing attention to its inferiority to Crescent Rose.

That was hardly fair, since _everything_ was inferior to it.

Everything.

"Well I've got my sword." He offered as he waved the weapon for her to look at. It looked fairly simple, but definitely seemed like it had seen battle, which was a plus. "And I have a shield that turns into a sheathe when I don't need to carry it."

"But... wouldn't it still weigh the same?"

"Well yeah, but it's easier to carry it buckled on my hip, than constantly on my arm."

"Well that makes sense. I'm a bit of a geek but the classics are cool too!" She hoped she hadn't offended him but he looked more amused than anything else. An emotion she was used to seeing on Yang's face, but she would put up with it if she had to.

"Mr Arc, there you are!" A female voice interrupted them before Ruby could ask him any more questions. She winced as she saw who it was who was approaching them. Oh Gods, it was that teacher again from the police station. Goodwitch or something... with the terrifying expression and the evil eyes.

_When I'm a huntress... I'll sign autographs... _

"There you are... I've been looking all over for you, what happened?" Ruby kept silent as the woman addressed the student next to her, unwilling to draw the woman's ire.

"Miss Goodwitch. I'm sorry, Doctor Oobleck was so fast, I couldn't keep up with him." The woman seemed to sigh in annoyance as she looked to one side, muttering something about coffee from what little Ruby could hear. Either way, she seemed to accept his excuse without argument.

"Ah, I see you have found Miss Rose as well. I hadn't realized she had separated from the main group." Ruby spared her a small wave as those green eyes pierced her, but her attempt at a friendly smile to placate the older woman quickly wilted.

"Ruby was helping me find my way here. I hope I haven't made her late?"

Huh? That sounded weird, why was Jaune claiming that she had been the one to help him out? And why was he so calm when the two of them were clearly in such trouble!?

"Jaune?" She asked simply, wondering what he was talking about.

"That's professor Arc to you, Miss Rose." The stern woman quickly interrupted, causing Ruby to rear back in shock as she stared at her new friend in a mixture of shock and horror. He simply shrugged apologetically at her in return.

"EHHHH!?"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh poor Ruby. Your first friend is your teacher, back to square one for you I'm afraid! Though you can be sure Yang will never let this go, when she finds out.<strong>

**Short chapter there I'm afraid. I am trying to keep it episodic so I can update it more often, since my other fic averages 8-12k words a chapter... if I tried to make this similar it would take forever to do them both. I'm also trying a bit of an experiment here where my style of writing will change dependent upon whose perspective I am writing from. So with Ruby you might have seen the pace of the writing become a bit quicker, more frantic. She's impatient and nervous. While Jaune's is a bit more introspective and in his mind - since he is trying juggle all his lies. Hopefully it reads well.**

**Next chapter (and this will be continued now due to interest from reviewers):**

**Looking after the students, meeting Yang, Blake and Weiss - and initiation!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we go ladies and gentlemen. As promised for my loyal readers of my other fic, I will only update this one when that one is updated as well. I'd like to quickly address a key point people have brought up, and offer you all a chance to get involved in the story by voting I guess.**

**The final member of JNPR. Well obviously it won't be Jaune, and I don't want to involve an OC in the story, partly because while I am confident I could write an engaging and interesting character – I just don't think you guys want to see one!**

**So we have two choices I have come up with, though I'm open to other suggestions. I think there is a good reason Pyrrha does not lead, and since her name is based on the General Pyrrhus… well, I think that reason should be evident. So I won't have her lead a team either.**

**Team SNPR (Sniper) – Wherein Sun Wukong is the final member of their team and the leader.**

**Team RVNN (Raven) - Where Velvet Scarletina is actually a first year, and the team leader is Ren. **

**Cast your votes in a review I suppose, I'm not really savvy on polls.**

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><p>Wolf among the sheep<p>

* * *

><p>Jaune schooled his features as he followed Glynda Goodwitch through a few doors to where the other teachers were apparently gathering to discuss what was going on. Apparently he had missed the entrance speech from Headmaster Ozpin, though she had explained that it didn't really matter. At the very least she had accepted his excuse as to Doctor Oobleck, he wasn't sure if it was more worrying that she had let it go so easily… he was supposed to be a support teacher for that man after all.<p>

"Ah Mr Arc, a pleasure to see you made it." The Headmaster greeted as the two of them entered the room. Before Jaune could so much as respond to his white-haired employer, a green blur appeared in front of him, taking his hand and shaking it briefly before letting go.

"Mr Arc, my apologies for losing you I did not take into account your speed nor your lack of knowledge as to the surroundings and layout of our fine establishment and must have therefore lost track of you on one of the myriad corridors. I can assure you it will not happen again." The words rattled and mashed together similar to a car wreck, but he could make out the general gist of it and simply nodded his acceptance.

"Yes, do try to keep that in mind next time Professor Oobleck." The blonde deputy chastised as she walked past him.

"Actually it's doc-" He stopped as green eyes narrowed dangerously behind their glasses. "I mean of course! Of course!"

Huh. So it wasn't just him who was apparently terrified of the stern blonde. That was good to know.

"Well then, perhaps I should introduce you to our resident Grimm studies professor and experienced Huntsman, Professor Peter Port." Jaune turned back to Ozpin as he spoke, before looking towards a rather large man who strode purposefully over to him, giving him a hearty handshake. The teacher was wearing a dark red military jacket, and sported a rather impressive grey moustache along with thick bushy eyebrows. Despite himself, Jaune couldn't help but think the man looked quite jolly.

"Bravo, fantastic to meet such a young hunter as yourself." The man boisterously welcomed as he shook Jaune's hand. Jaune smiled back as he did his best to avoid his shoulder becoming dislocated.

"Thank you Professor Port, but I'm hardly a qualified Hunter, I never made it past training after all."

"Nonsense my boy! Hunters are created, not simply taught. Surviving in that wilderness for so long makes you more a hunter than many others I've known. And please, call me Peter." Jaune smiled back and was about to reply but for a cough of interruption from the Headmaster.

"In regard to your qualifications Mr Arc. You may want to keep those a little quiet. We have decided to say you are a fully qualified Huntsman, and to hear otherwise might cause the students to treat you differently."

"I understand, I can play along." Jaune agreed; feeling more than a little amused at the irony of keeping another secret on this matter. So now he was a fraud pretending to be a hunter-in-training who was pretending to be a qualified huntsman.

"Good. We'll move onto the next point of business then. Tomorrow we will be holding initiation, and as usual I have set out the relics in the Emerald forest." Ozpin continued to speak, while Jaune listened quietly. There was really no point butting in when he could just keep quiet and absorb whatever he could.

"What did you use as relics this year Headmaster?" The only female teacher asked with mild curiosity, while the Headmaster himself simply took another long drink from his mug.

"You will see tomorrow I'm sure. Regardless, we will be launching the students into the Emerald forest and telling them to find the temple and the relics. Whatever relic a pair brings back, will see them grouped with a matching second relic to make four man teams."

Launched? Jaune wanted to ask on that, but kept quiet. It might be some form of standardised test for all schools, and he would reveal himself if he wasn't aware of what it was. At the end of the day, satisfying his curiosity was a needless task. He would find out tomorrow with the other students.

"Who will be monitoring the teams this year?" Professor Port asked as he played with his moustache, coiling it around his finger before letting it go.

"Glynda and I shall be monitoring the teams, while Oobleck will be on hand to retrieve any students who fall unconscious in the forest. I was hoping to leave watching over the students tonight to yourself and Glynda, Peter."

Peter Port nodded in agreement, while Glynda rubbed at her forehead and muttered to herself about sleep. Jaune watched for a brief moment before cursing himself as he stepped forwards.

"I'll look after the students tonight with Peter." He spoke, causing everyone to go silent as they turned to face him. Glynda looked surprised, while Peter simply looked amused. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune noticed Ozpin hiding a small smile behind taking a drink of his coffee. "Peter and I can handle that easily enough I believe, if you're handling initiation tomorrow then you need your rest." He directed the last part towards the blonde woman, who was still looking at him with surprisingly wide eyes, before she coughed and righted herself.

"I-I would appreciate that, if you are certain?" She looked unsure of herself as she said that, but Jaune quickly shook his head in response.

"Of course I'm sure. I'm sure Peter will help me if I run into any trouble, right?" He offered to the round man next to him, who nodded his head and patted Jaune on the back with the force of a bear striking him. Jaune staggered forwards slightly as his eyes widened, but managed to not fall over. Holy crap, that was probably going to bruise!

"Absolutely!" Peter bellowed. "Mr Arc is right, you get your rest Glynda. We can handle a bunch of rowdy students between the two of us."

"That is fine with myself. If everything is finished, we can depart?" The Headmaster offered as he swept from the room, with Oobleck following quickly afterwards. Glynda paused as she passed in front of Jaune, giving him a suspicious look before looking satisfied and simply nodding.

"Thank you Professor Port, Jaune, I appreciate the help." Before he could respond she had already vanished from the room, leaving just the two men left. Jaune turned to the older man, only to rear back at suddenly finding the teacher standing not six inches in front of him.

"My boy!" The man crowed. "Such diligence and generosity! And to achieve such closeness with Miss Goodwitch so quickly. You are beyond even a true hunter like myself."

"Closeness?" Jaune stammered in confusion, before connecting the dots in his mind. "Oh, I just asked her to call me by my first name… I hope you will too?" It felt weird to be called Mr Arc, all the time, and he had a sinking feeling it would only get worse when the students began calling him that.

"Of course my boy, as for Miss Goodwitch well…" He winked at Jaune, or rather lowered one bushy eyebrow and made a clicking noise with his tongue. "I think we've all asked her to call us by our first names, though to no avail eh? But enough of that, let's talk about what we have to do tonight, looking after young hormone driven students trapped in a room together can be tougher than fighting a grown Nevermore with your bare hands. I should know, I've done both, and got the scars from the hormone driven students to prove it!"

And thus Peter Port launched into a tale of explosions, bravery, young women and a brave sterling Adonis known only as… Peter.

* * *

><p>Yang couldn't help the smile that came over her lips as she listened to her younger sister ranting her frustration at having been abandoned by her earlier. It looked like her gambit to force her sister to make a friend hadn't worked quite as she had planned it. Oh it had sort of worked. In a hilarious way that was!<p>

"And then I found out he was a teacher! I've never been so embarrassed in my life!" The cute young girl moaned as she buried her face into her arms and stifled a loud groan into the fabric of her sleeves.

"Aww, don't sweat it Rubes." Yang tried to comfort, as she patted her sister on the shoulder. "At least you made a good impression, right?" Apparently those were the wrong words as the girl came back to life, waving her arms about animatedly.

"Oh yeah, sure. Laid out in the middle of the pavement like I'd been hit by a car or something! Great first impression to make to a teacher who could have me expelled. Ughhhhhhh….."

"No one's expelling you." Yang replied with a small grin as she rubbed her sister's hair comfortingly. "And besides, it sounds like the two of you got on well enough. A friend's still a friend right?"

"I don't think it counts if he's a teacher." Ruby whined, while Yang shook her head in amusement. Yeah it really _didn't_ count if they were teachers, but at the same time this was Ruby, and beggars couldn't be choosers. She'd rather Ruby have an old man as a friend than no friends.

"What did he look like anyway, he must be pretty short if you thought he was a student." In her mind she was imagining a small and thin guy, maybe middle aged. Ruby wasn't exactly the best when it came to noticing details, so she might have just assumed he was her age. Or well, two years above her age.

"Nuh-uh." Ruby shook her head. "He wasn't short, he was over six feet tall. But he definitely looked young, only about as old as you, and he had blonde hair too." Huh, was that so? She doubted he could be seventeen, since that would make him a student, but it wasn't impossible that he might be in his mid-twenties.

"Was he hot? What was he wearing?" To her amusement, Ruby immediately flushed red and began to stutter her denials, even as her hands clenched at her skirt. Yang's grin widened as she watched Ruby attempt to deny that he was attractive. To Yang's eyes though, it was clear. _Someone has a crush! Oh I am going to milk this…_

"Of course you don't fancy your teacher Rubes." She drawled, pretending she believed it. "What did he look like then, so I don't call him a student by accident."

"Okay… well he was about six foot two or three. Blonde hair coming down to above his eyes, while he wore a dark blue long coat over a silver breastplate and light blue jeans. He has bright blue eyes and wields a sword and a shield which can collapse into a sheathe."

Yang's eyes widened at the detailed description. Ruby had remembered all that, and more tellingly, had identified his weapons and remembered them. It was official. Her little sister had the hots for teacher. Letting her sister talk for a little longer, Yang strained her eyes to try and find anyone matching that description, but could only see a few guys wrestling in a rather blatant attempt to catch her attention. Seriously… such children… Like she was going to be interested in muscle-bound idiots who were acting like twelve-year olds… if they liked grappling so much then they could have each other.

"And then I tripped over this crabby girl's luggage!" Ruby whined, waving her arms at Yang, even as her own lilac eyes began to take notice of a white-haired girl walking up to them, a determined expression on her face. Yang tilted her head to the side in question.

"YOU!"

"Eep!" Ruby screamed as she leapt into Yang's arms, causing her knees to buckle as she quickly adapted to holding her sister's frame. "Oh God it's happening again!"

"Do you even realise how much danger you caused?" The white haired girl accused as she prodded a finger dangerously close to her little sister's face. Despite herself Yang felt her temper begin to flare, even as Ruby climbed out of her arms. Before she could react however, a door opening caught her attention, especially when a large round man entered with a blonde teen next to him. Yang's lilac eyes zeroed in on him instantly as her mind connected the dots. An _adult_ here had to be a teacher… and this tall blonde guy was obviously the other teacher. This was the guy her little sister had the hots for!

She couldn't make out too many details from this distance, but he definitely looked like her sister had described, with his tall frame and messy blonde hair. She had to say he cut a rather dangerous figure, and the fact that he was apparently skilled enough to be a teacher at such a young age certainly helped his image. He seemed to be chatting with the older man, the both of them appearing to be friendly colleagues, if not good friends themselves. That made it official in her mind.

"-caused an explosion!" A shrill voice drew her attention back to the argument taking place before her, even as Ruby looked down at her feet for a moment. Oh wow, her sister really _had_ exploded? Awesome!

"Calm down now." Yang ordered, holding back her temper now that she knew the teachers were present. Even so she took a step between the girl and Ruby just in case. "I don't know who you are bu-"

"Another idiot who doesn't know who I am?" The rude girl interrupted as she rolled her eyes in an overly dramatic manner. "I am Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company… really do you people know nothing?"

_Your name will be `casualty` if you try that again._ Yang growled to herself as her eyes flared red before she forced them back to lilac. From the corner of her vision she could see the blonde teacher approaching them, no doubt drawn to the commotion. Grinning to herself she decided to get her own revenge on the little snot.

"Well maybe you and Ruby got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you try and be friends?"

"Great idea Yang, my name's Ruby. Let's be friends!" Her peppy little sister greeted as she held out a hand to be shaken. The Schnee heiress however just swung her arms sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, and we can go shopping, and paint our nails. And talk about boys like tall, blonde and scraggly." She said this while pointing at the teacher, who was now stood right behind the heiress. She sighed dramatically and span to face him, presumably giving him an evil glare. "Do you have nothing better to do than come over here and interrupt me?"

Yang's grin widened to epic proportions.

The tall man's eyes narrowed briefly, while his brows drew down in a stern expression, even while Ruby finally noticed who it was and let out a startled "eep" from beside Yang.

"Heya _Professor_." Yang greeted with an easy wave and a subtle emphasis on his title, causing the white-haired girl to freeze.

"Good afternoon, I hope you students are having a… _calm…_ day?" Oh, he looked ticked alright, though definitely not at her or Ruby, which was a plus in her book. She'd had enough of teachers who seemed to just throw everyone involved into the guilty pile, even when they had seen the entire incident themselves.

"P-professor?" The white-haired heiress muttered in surprise and possibly horror as she turned to look at the young man. "You?"

"Indeed. Me." The man replied with an arched eyebrow. "I am Professor Jaune Arc of Beacon Academy. But enough about me, let's talk about _you._ Like how about how you're going to stop causing an argument before I have to take this any further?"

"O-of course! My apologies Professor Arc." The girl apologised quickly while curtseying in embarrassment. Yang couldn't help but stick her tongue out to spite the girl, enjoying the irritation on her face at seeing the gesture. The man's blue eyes met her own before she could retract it however, and for a moment she froze with her tongue still sticking out from between her lips, waiting for him to comment on it.

"Sis!" Ruby hissed as she elbowed Yang harshly, causing her to retract her tongue before she bit it off from the shock.

"Regardless." The man continued, sparing Yang an amused glance before turning back to the Schnee girl. "The term hasn't even started so I don't want to ruin my day with a discipline issue this quickly, why don't you find somewhere to rest."

"Of course, sir. I am _so_ sorry!" He waved her off as the girl fled, a blush of embarrassment on her face at having been called out so early.

"Well, that's sorted." The man spoke to himself as he turned to face them. Yang felt something jostle her for a moment before she looked down to see that Ruby had half-hidden herself behind Yang. _D'awwwww!_ She cooed in her mind.

"Are you two okay?" He asked, his voice was calmer now and the timbre of it did make Yang thing he was around their age. He must be skilled indeed to be a teacher.

"Thanks to you, yeah. Thanks for the save Prof." She grinned at the man, subtly noticing that he was a little bit taller than herself which was a nice feeling. While she liked her height, it was sometimes a bit awkward being taller than most guys.

"From what I saw, I'm not sure if I saved you or her." He replied as he looked her in the eyes for a few moments, causing a knowing grin to come to Yang's lips. Yeah she'd been close to just smacking the little girl. "Outside of lessons please feel free to call me Jaune, Professor makes me feel quite old."

"Sure thing, _Jaune_." She whispered his name out in a sultry manner as she stepped away from her sister and placed a hand flat on the man's upper chest. Her lilac eyes looked into his, hoping to see some kind of blush or similar, but instead he simply raised an eyebrow. "My name's Yang Xiao-Long, but you can call me Yang. I hear you know my sister Ruby."

"We've met yes. Thank you for keeping me company earlier Ruby."

"No problem." The smaller girl whispered back as she waved shyly at him. Yang watched his face carefully, but was pleased to see just a small amount of confusion in his eyes, rather than any lecherous expression. It seemed he hadn't realised that Ruby liked him, which was probably for the best. Even so, she'd best get his attention away from Ruby before he did catch on. While she was keen to tease Rubes to high Heaven about this, she didn't want the guy to notice and maybe take advantage of her cute sibling.

"Hmmm… so you helped out my little sister too? I think that deserved a reward…" She let the last bit trail off as she stepped closer to him, only a few scant inches between her breasts and his chest as she looked up into his face. To her surprised delight the man simply raised a single eyebrow as he looked down on her.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about Miss Xiao-Long." The man whispered back as he smiled and leaned towards her, before turning and walking slowly away, not once looking back at her stunned expression.

Smooth, confident, and he knew how to play the game? Oh yeah… she was going to have _fun_ with this one! School had just become that _much_ more interesting.

Now if only Ruby would stop kicking the back of her legs angrily.

* * *

><p>Jaune kept his eyes firmly locked forwards as he forced his wobbly legs to carry him away from Ruby and her… sister. Her <em>older<em> sister, her much more _developed_ sister. Good Gods, that woman… he didn't know whether he was supposed to be scared or aroused, but he definitely knew which one he was feeling.

_Down boy! DOWN!_ He begged within his mind, thanking his new coat for being able to hide his lower body from view. Sure it was a biological reaction, but he was fairly sure teachers weren't supposed to pitch a tent when talking to their students. Then again, students weren't meant to flirt so blatantly with their teachers either.

And there was the other problem. A girl had flirted with him! A drop-dead sexy girl who was surely so far out of his league it wasn't funny. And he couldn't do anything about it – because she was his student!

_Gahhhh!_ His mind screamed in agony. If only he'd got in as a student he might have had a chance, for God's sake, why was life so unfair!? Instead he'd been forced to turn tail and flee from her advances, a move which had probably _really_ impressed her. Yep, guy runs away from flirting. Very sexy.

He'd just wanted to help out his new friend Ruby… though that friendship was probably going to be tenuous now, judging by how the girl had acted. Peter had agreed, saying Jaune should show his authority to stop the argument from coming to blows.

So he'd steeled his nerves wandered over just in time to hear himself being insulted… and almost crapped himself when the white-haired girl had given him a glare cold enough to freeze his lungs.

_At least I managed to force something out… and it seemed to work._ Which was a miracle in and of itself. Honestly, it looked more like the girl was trying to avoid getting in trouble, but it still meant he had solved the problem like a teacher would. And if he had to rely on threats of detention to get his point across? Well, that was fine with him.

As long as he never had to handle the detention itself… Maybe that was left to Miss Goodwitch? _That would certainly convince the students never to get a detention again._

"Well handled my boy." Peter congratulated as Jaune finally made his way back to the wall the large man was leaning against, accepting a cup of coffee handed to him. Taking a deep sip, he was surprised to note just how nice the coffee at Beacon was.

"I didn't really do anything." Jaune waved the compliment away, but was secretly pleased to have confirmation that he was doing things like he was supposed to. One of the tips on Glynda's cheat sheet had been to never show fear or uncertainty in front of a student, and it had seemed to work wonders here. "But at least it was sorted out."

"Indeed lad. And the important thing is that the students learn who you are, and what you are." That was a good point he supposed, and again he was pleasantly surprised by how intelligent the large man actually was. "Looks like the kids are getting ready for bed." He added, pointing his mug in a direction that Jaune followed.

_Ughh…._ And had his mind instantly let out a tortured death whine at seeing the creamy white legs of a redheaded woman changing into her pyjamas, right at the moment she bent over, granting him a perfect image of her toned rear and black underwear. _It's official… I'm doomed._

His blue eyes trailed a little further, seeing a few other young, and very fit, girls slipping into sleeping clothes. Oh, nothing was really shown bar the brief flashes of underwear… but it was enough to keep his attention locked. It didn't surprise him in the least that he caught a few other guys watching along with him.

"I-is it wise to have guys and girls change in front of each other like this!?" Jaune stuttered out with a loud gulp as he forced more coffee down his throat, and importantly cut off his vision with the dark liquid and bright white mug.

"Ho? Well this is as much a test as the initiation my boy. A hunter must be disciplined. There is a reason the two of us are here after all." Jaune coughed loudly as the man slapped another bear paw into his back, drawing someone nearby people's attention to the pair. A few students pointed at him before turning to their fellows, no doubt trying to figure out who he was. He supposed they would learn sooner or later. "I suppose some of these students are close to your age aren't they my boy. Don't let Glynda catch you looking." The man added as he laughed loudly at Jaune's expense.

Oh Gods… he could just imagine if Glynda Goodwitch caught him flirting with a student or similar, that was probably so far against the rules that she would skin him alive and use him as a tapestry for her office.

"I can control my hormones if I have to." Jaune replied, in what was possible the _biggest _falsehood he had told since arriving, especially considering what said hormones were doing right at this moment. _Calm… it will be easier when this is over and they have their own rooms…_

_Please sir… I'm late on my homework… perhaps you could accept something else…_

"-aune. Jaune!? You there my boy?" A voice broke into his daydream as he shook his head and turned to look at his fellow professor.

"Heh?" He answered back stupidly, hoping he wasn't bleeding from his nose like a poor quality anime character or something.

"I said `it looks like your group is acting up again,` you might want to sort them out." Jaune followed the man's gaze to see that once again Ruby, Yang and the white-haired girl were shouting at one another. Though this time they were doing so beside a wall where a black-haired girl with a bow was resting.

"Again?" Jaune simply whined as he pushed himself off the wall. Beside him, Peter snorted in amusement.

"It's difficult to quell the spirits of a huntress-in-training. Though sometimes we must try for the sake of peace. Remember my boy, they have claws!"

"Sure. If I look like I'm about to die come help me." Jaune sighed back, smiling as he got a short laugh from the man. It was strange to imagine that out of a room full of teenagers his own age, he was becoming fast friends with a man who looked to easily be over forty.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby shouted loudly as Jaune approached, taking a few quick moments to address the scene. It literally was the exact same culprits again, though they were now dressed in revealing night clothes. Thank God for Ruby, who was simply dressed in a cute pair of pyjama bottoms and a tank top. He keenly made sure to keep his eyes away from the blonde haired girl's legs, though he noticed her lips twist into an evil smirk when saw him approaching. Though whether that was because she could tease him, or just because he was about to tell the white-haired girl off _again_ was uncertain.

"Okay-okay. Break it up ladies." He instructed as he casually walked between the four of them, though one was hardly a combatant, buried in her book as she was.

Once again the white-haired girl's eyes widened in sudden fear at seeing him, and her mouth shut with a loud click as she waited to be told off. Jaune sucked in a breath and let it out in a long sigh. He really didn't want to be telling someone off twice in a single night, when they hadn't been to any lessons yet… he was going to get a bad reputation at this rate.

"I don't know who started this." He instead spoke to all of them, making sure to look into Ruby's eyes as she cast her gaze down in slight shame. The white-haired girl did the same, though she looked to the side awkwardly. The blonde demon simply shuffled on her feet a little, but still grinned challengingly as he looked into her eyes. The final girl still didn't look up from her book, apparently happy to assume he wasn't telling her off.

Well… she was right, he supposed.

"But I am finishing it. I win, everyone loses. Go to sleep." Jaune was surprised to hear a few muffled giggles from people around them at his words, even as the three being told off blushed a little. The white-haired one was the first to leave, nodding respectfully at Jaune before storming away in definite anger. He hoped he hadn't made an enemy there.

Ruby at least was easier to read. She looked up at him uncertainly, and he eased her concern by giving her a quick smile and a small shrug back to her, as if to say _sorry, it's my job._ She seemed to understand him, nodding and smiling as she wandered back to her sleeping area.

"Heh, I'll win next time prof." Yang quipped as she winked at him salaciously before wandering after her sister, though he definitely noticed the swaying of her rear in her tight sleeping shorts. _God damn…_

Finally he turned to the quiet girl who was sat against the wall, noticing for the first time that she was wearing a sleeping yukata that left her long legs free to his vision. _And what nice legs those are- NO! BAD!_

Seriously though… did she have to sit with her legs propped up like that, as if tempting him to try and follow the curves up towards-

"It will be lights out soon, I would find a place to stop." He instead interrupted himself before his mind and eyes could lead him into any further trouble. For the first time the girl turned her attention away from her book, meeting his eyes with bright yellow orbs that caught him off guard for a moment. What an unusual colour…

"Thank you." She spoke simply, her voice soft but pleasant. Jaune simply smiled back and nodded before walking away.

Frankly, he couldn't wait to get this night over so he could stop being taunted by all these beautiful girls in their night clothes… why couldn't they wear something more conservative!? Like his onesie…

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><p><strong>There we go. I felt like a lot went on in this chapter, despite nothing going on. Which is a weird feeling. It made me realise just how little takes place in that episode, and yet just how much writing it would require. I tried to skip out a lot of the dialogue, as I'm sure people would be sick of hearing the exact same lines as the anime every time.<strong>

**And oh my I felt like I was bashing on Weiss a little, but she was the main antagonist of the intro, that will change don't worry. Yang's just teasing and being flirty, though she is intrigued with him for not being affected (lol) like most guys would. **

**Oh Pyrrha, you tease. **

**Please let me know what you like in regards to the final member of JNPR. **

**Next chapter – Breakfast, meeting Ren, Nora and Pyrrha. Initiation, and teams formed. **

**Also. Hints of GLYNDARC, if that is the real name of it. I won't discount the pairing since quite a few people expressed love for the idea, though as I said, this will be a humour fic so Jaune will always have a few girls chasing after him. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay notes here, sorry for the delay (and length of these notes!), I spent all the weekend at a wedding anniversary for a gay couple, except it wasn't a wedding anniversary technically due to it being illegal til recently, more of a relationship one. ANYWAY. I had to be there as it was a big deal, as when they got together one was told he had only three months to live. So three years is so HUGE for them!**

**Anyway! The story, wow the response. Thank you all for loving this so much and casting your votes. There were more options requested than I have, so I added them to the tallies as best I could. The big danger here is always that whatever I choose, I will annoy loads of people. And while I'm sure 85% of you will be like "I just voted, I don't mind if you don't use mine." Some people were a little more aggressive with their votes... heh... heh... help me. **

**So to those whose choice didn't win, I am sorry! But I've tried to address all the concerns raised by those people, so please don't assume I've erased their previous team from existence, I have given them a believable reason, and due to it. That team will actually feature in this fic, more than they otherwise would! Yayz!**

**Ahem to the point:**

**NPR - Team of three - 4 **

**Penny (surprising amount of love) : 4**

**OC - I said I wouldn't, but it got love : 5**

**Sun "Mother-effing" Wukong : 9**

**Velvet "can't think of a middle" Scarlatina : Stopped counting at 15.**

**I had a lot of votes privately by PM too for some reason. Those who voted for multiple, were entered into both, unless it clearly stated which you preferred MORE. **

**So there we go, Velvet with the landslide. Now then to address concerns. I will not tear CFVY apart, I've thought of a way that could work, with a little advice from Gravespawn in a review. It will fit, and though I don't clearly mention in the fic at this point, CFY will be involved in here. Given the reason she is here as a first year, it makes sense that they would want to keep in touch with her, and make sure she is okay. So they will actually have "more" input than they normally would. Also I won't make an OC for the team, they are an established team and have proven themselves as far as Ozpin is concerned. Also it's easy to "add a person" to a 1st year team, but it's not like he could pull an older student out of his arse for their team.**

**So no more delays, here we go!**

**I'm so sorry for the Lord of the Rings reference in here, I could not resist it, as it fits the in-joke I'm hoping to build perfectly.**

* * *

><p>Of forests, Grimm and Special Brew<p>

* * *

><p>Jaune yawned blearily as he watched the students begin to stumble to their feet, the early risers already making their way out of the showering rooms with a vigour that made him want to cry. His eyes were fighting a losing battle for wakefulness, and his legs had given up on him hours ago.<p>

When he'd offered to take this responsibility away from Miss Goodwitch he had been expecting a number of things. Firstly that it would help her, and thus would ingratiate himself with her. She was his best source of information and advice at this academy, and he could honestly say his best supporter. Beyond that he had hoped to take what he knew would be a relatively simple task, lest the Headmaster assign him something else, something that he might _not_ have been able to handle.

Either way, he'd expected to have to watch a few students get ready for bed, maybe sort out some arguments at the _worst_, and then catch some rest himself.

_Oh you poor fool._ His treacherous ego tormented in a sing-song voice. _Watching the students was the job... how can you watch them if you're sleeping?_

He and Port had been forced to remain awake, _all night_. Every single minute while 99.9% of the student body slumbered away, on the _off-chance_ that one of them might wake up and try something stupid.

What, he didn't know. They were hardly going to try and do something illegal in a room full of trained combatants who could wake up at the slightest noise of struggle. Perhaps it was more in case any new lovebirds decided to get a little _cosy_ during the night.

None had.

Not a single person had woken up for so much as a bathroom break, leaving Peter and he to sit leaning against a wall for a few hours, before both giving up on that and finding some chairs. His only companion the lingering tales of Peter in his youth, which had become less and less boisterous as the night went on.

Even Peter had begun to lose interest it seemed.

"Soon lad..." The older teacher mumbled as he too rubbed at his eyes. At least his tiredness seemed to be hidden behind his thick brows and long moustache. But Jaune was beginning to see the signs in him too. "Soon it'll all be over... and then... sleep."

"I cannot wait." He yawned back. His eyes picked out the figure of Ruby Rose from last night, who was making her way into the women's bathrooms to shower and change. Somehow it didn't surprise him at all to see her so energetic, nor to see her blonde sister look like a zombie as she followed her. He could relate.

"Why don't you get some breakfast Jaune." Peter offered as he nodded in the direction of the cafeteria where a few students were heading. "A quick meal and some coffee might wake you up."

"Are you sure?" He asked uncertainly, while the offer did sound tempting, he was loathe to abandon his new brother-in-arms to the waking horde.

"You've done enough my boy. Besides, the students in the cafeteria might need watching too." The man winked at him as he said that, and Jaune let a small grin to come to his face at the sneakiness.

"Right you are. Wouldn't want them to fall prey to a rogue bagel." He joked back, and was pleased to see the man laugh in response.

"Ask for a teacher's coffee!" Peter whispered to him before he could leave, a serious expression on his face. "But let no one hear you."

"Umm.. okay?" He shrugged as the older man let go of him and ushered him away. Jaune was quick to take the signal. His body craved nourishment almost as much as sleep, it had been over twelve hours since his last meal.

The Beacon cafeteria was a stately hall. With large oaken doors, and tall ornate windows along an entire wall. Long wooden tables made the room look orderly and incredibly long. From the entrance he could make out a number of serving stations with cooks bustling away in sight, but there were also numerous vending machines dotted around the hall as well.

_I suppose I should get a coffee like Peter said..._ He thought to himself as he wandered towards one of the empty stations. He wasn't a particular fan of the thick drink, finding it disgusting, but the caffeine would certainly be appreciated right now.

"What can I get you." The large man dressed in white asked in a friendly manner as he smiled at Jaune. Before him was a few plates arranged out, with various cooked meats and eggs, along with other fruits and bakery products.

"I'll just have some fruit and bread." Jaune shrugged as he helped himself to one of the plates, and also added some jam to a bowl for himself. "Just finished working the shift watching the students and I don't think I can handle anything bigger."

"Oh, you're the new teacher!" The large man laughed. "The graveyard shift is always the hardest I hear. Hey..." The man whispered as he looked left and right before leaning in. Mind still half-clouded by lack of sleep, Jaune didn't see anything particularly wrong with the idea of leaning his face close to a stranger who was wielding a kitchen knife, and so dipped himself forwards. Thankfully death was not his immediate reward.

"You looking for a special brew?" The cook asked, in the manner one might if they were looking to offload some particularly volatile contraband.

"A teacher's coffee?" Jaune guessed, hoping it wasn't anything more incriminating. The cook shushed him loudly, but nodded. "I'll take one, yeah. I could use the caffeine."

"I hear you. I'll be back in a second, wait here." The man quickly vanished into a sideroom as Jaune sat waiting, idly nibbling on a croissant to sate his stomach before it could eat his spine. A few moments later the man came out, walking slowly as he balanced something before him. "Here you go. And remember... keep it secret, keep it safe."

"… Thanks..." The blonde mumbled as he walked away, wondering exactly what he'd gotten himself into. The coffee looked the same as any other, a brown so dark it was close to black with a lighter edge where it hugged the white rim. He didn't think Peter Port would honestly trick him into taking anything illegal though, so perhaps it was just something heavily caffeinated, that they didn't really wan to give to teenagers. It kind of made sense.

Finding an empty table was easy enough given how early it was, and he settled himself down before immediately lathering an overly indulgent amount of jam onto his croissant and biting into it with gusto. The food was wonderful, still warm and fresh from baking. In the back of his mind he questioned if the late wakers would even experience the true beauty of it, before dismissing it as unimportant. _He_ was experiencing it.

_Still... time to try this... special brew..._ He thought to himself as he lifted the cup in front of his eyes challengingly. The white porcelain offered no answers. No clues, and no hint of the possibilities that lay within.

Because it was a mug.

Sighing he lifted it back and took a long sip.

Before the world exploded.

Ghostly arms settled around him, the warmth of his mother hugging him from behind as she whispered into his ears that it would _all be okay Jaune._ The fresh breeze of the morning seemed to break through stone and glass to invade his nostrils and invigorate him, even as the muted noise from the students was erased.

Bird song. There was so much, they were so high in the air, and the birds had found Beacon to be a home. Their morning trilling filled him with an inner peace that was hard to describe in words. It was an epiphany, as though he had realised the meaning of it all, and was able to block out all distraction. No worries for the future, or the past. Only the beauty of the now.

A tear of happiness pooled in the corner of one eye, before slowly trailing down his cheek before hanging there, forgotten.

"HIYA!" A voice screamed from nearby, causing him to rear back as his peace crashed into a million pieces around him. Instinctively his hands formed a protective barrier around the ambrosia, and he shifted his body in preparation to throw himself in front of whatever might seek to hurt it.

"Umm..." The voice, which he could now recognise as female asked, as he looked up to see an orange-haired girl clutching a plate of pancakes staring at him. She looked vaguely confused. "Did you just hiss at me?" She asked.

"You must have imagined it." Jaune deflected, unsure of what he had actually done from being brought out of his happy place. Idly his eyes glanced down to see that his mug was empty, when had he drunk it all!?

"Okay!" The girl cheered as she plopped down opposite him, waving to her companion to do the same. He was an exotic looking man with pink eyes and jet black hair, though he had a lock of pink hair running through it. "My name's Nora, and this is my best friend Ren! But we're not together-"

"Thank you Nora." Ren interrupted, before the girl could continue on. "Lie Ren, and this is Nora Valkyrie. I understand you're one of the Professors here. Good morning to you."

"And yourself. The name's Jaune Arc, you can call me Jaune outside of class." He offered with a shrug, helping himself to another generous slice of croissant. The student, Ren, nodded in thanks but didn't say anything as he started to eat his own breakfast. Jaune's eyes were briefly brought back to the orange haired girl as she stabbed her fork into what looked like a stack of eight pancakes, before lifting the _entire_ stack up as one. She then proceeded to bite into it like the sugariest ice-cream in history.

_O-kayyyy..._

"Forgive me if this sounds rude." Ren interrupted, dragging Jaune's attention away from the impressive spectacle in front of him. "But you seem quite young, how did you come to be a teacher here?"

"Chance more than anything." Jaune offered with a small smile, internally wondering how much he could give, both to protect himself, but also to play along with Ozpin's scheme of not appearing too inexperienced. "I'm 20 years old, and was invited to teach here by the Headmaster." Perhaps that was enough to say here, if they had any further questions then they would need to seek answers from the Headmaster himself, which he doubted they would try.

"You must be super-strong then!" The girl crowed as she invaded his personal bubble, leaning across the table. Where had the pancakes gone, she couldn't have eaten them all, surely!? "Can we spar some time Jauney!"

"Professor Jaune." The polite boy corrected as he took a sip of orange juice.

"What I said!"

"Perhaps when you're a little more experienced Nora." Jaune simply offered with a smile, sweating a little inside at the idea of fighting this crazy girl. Maybe by that time, he could become more experienced himself!

"Well of course!" The girl agreed, as though his comment was the most obvious she had heard in her life "There's no way I could beat a teacher now, but just you wait!"

"Sorry about Nora, she is always like this." The more taciturn boy apologised as he nodded at Jaune. In return Jaune just smiled and shook his head.

"It's fine. I'm not above casual conversation with students." Quite the opposite, he complained in his own mind... these people were of his own age group, they could have been his best friends, or his teammates... this Nora could have been his... No. That thought made him feel unsafe. Friends, and teammates, that sounded better.

Instead he found himself acting older than them. And not only, but feeling older than them too! As though the mere act of speaking and reacting in a more mature manner was building a barrier he was struggling to overcome. The mere fact of it threatening to tear him down.

"Arc!" A voice called out over the ruckus, as more students made their way into the dining halls. Jaune leant back to see Peter making his way into the room and calling for him.

"I shall see you all another time, good luck with initiation." He excused, smiling awkwardly at the girl as she made a whine of disappointment, while Ren just nodded in polite farewell.

"Have your breakfast lad?" Peter asked as Jaune nodded in response. "Good, good. I'll get mine now and cover the cafeteria. I need you to watch over the lockers to make sure nothing goes on. Just out the doors, and the hallway on the left, you can't miss it. Plenty of students heading that way now."

"Sure, sure. Is there anything else after this?" Jaune asked in return, invigorated from the special coffee he'd had the good fortune to be blessed with, but knowing that the rush would leave him soon enough.

"They'll be called to the cliffs for initiation soon. We'll be watching over them, but then we can retire." The man grinned at Jaune. "Two hours max lad. We're nearly there."

"Alright, I'll hold the lockers then. Catch up with you later." He waved as he headed off in the direction Peter had indicated, using the crowds of students more than the directions to navigate. Thankfully Peter had been correct in saying he couldn't miss it, as there were at least thirty students or more in the area, collecting weapons from lockers.

Rocket lockers if he remembered. He'd read about them in Glynda's notes. The idea was that you could summon your locker using your scroll, launching it to your destination so that you could have your weapons to hand. A valuable aid, the notes had said.

Downright stupidity, his mind had argued. Really, if you were caught unawares by Grimm then that meant you had somehow wandered into the clearly marked forests without a weapon... Or even worse, gone outside the walls of Vale. A civilian you might expect that from by accident, but a Hunter?

Though who was he to judge? Maybe it was something that only made sense to legitimate Hunters.

It was while he was considering the blue lockers, that someone bumped into his back, causing him to spin about even as the female voice complained at the nudging.

"P-Professor!" The white-haired girl from yesterday gasped as her eyes widened at having bumped into him again. The poor girl looked half-horrified and half-frustrated, and despite himself being the same age as her, and secretly finding her quite terrifying, he rushed to calm her.

"Don't worry, it was my fault." He held his hands out in front of himself to calm her, but refrained from actually touching her. "The teachers who watched over the hall didn't get to sleep, so I'm afraid my mind is a little scattered."

"O-Oh. I see." The girl recovered as she looked up at him, before taking a deep breath. "I would like to formally apologise for my actions last night Professor Arc. I was out of line, and promise I will not act in such an undignified manner again." She finished the words by bowing her head to him briefly. Truthfully, he was more than a little surprised at the apology. He had pegged her as a particularly prideful person, and had expected her to just do her best to ignore him.

"Oh that's no problem." He waved the apology away as he laughed at her. "I can understand that tempers fray so soon after moving to a new place. We'll leave it all behind us. You can call me Jaune outside of classes by the way."

He _would_ have that known by the end of the day. if he had to carve it into all their minds by hand.

"Thank you, Professor Jaune." The girl nodded, causing him to twitch a little at the worse title. "My name is Weiss Schnee, while you're here, might I introduce you to Pyrrha Nikos?"

"Hi." The girl with Weiss greeted, as Jaune turned to face her.

_Black lace._

"Good morning." He greeted back, hoping his eyes weren't twitching as he looked at the red-headed goddess stood before him. She was dressed in ornate bronze armour, mixed with red cloth that matched her brilliant red hair.

_And black lace._

"I had heard about a teacher close to our age, it's a pleasure to meet you. You must have studied extensively to gain a place here." The girl complimented as her green eyes regarded him with clear friendliness.

_You. Have a very sexy ass._ His mind greeted back.

"No more than anyone else, I'm sure." He deflected with a little laugh, that she joined in with. Oh Gods, why was it so easy to talk to women and get them laughing when he was pretending to be a teacher!?

_Water, water, everywhere. Yet none that's fit to drink._

"That's a good point." Weiss spoke, dragging his attention reluctantly away from the redhead in front of him. It was probably better this way. "Where was it you studied if I might ask Professor?"

"Not a problem Miss Schnee. I studied at the Vacuo Academy for the Gifted." He replied with a small smile, before wincing as all conversation about them went dead. From the corner of his eye, he could already see a few others turning away from their conversations to stare at him.

"T-the Vacuo Academy?" The redhead whispered in surprise, her eyes wide and her face twisted with concern. "I've heard about what happened. I'm sorry for your loss." She whispered to him, her green eyes clouded with sympathy that honestly had him surprised.

"I'm _so_ sorry for asking Professor!" Weiss interjected quickly as she shook her hands in front of herself. "I'm sorry if I brought up bad memories!"

Did everyone know about this place, other than him before it became a part of his alleged history!?

"It's fine Miss Schnee." He accepted with a small smile, content to refer to her by her last name since she seemed like a more formal person than he was used to. Honestly, she seemed icier than Glynda Goodwitch, and that was saying something. Though despite that attitude, and the small scar running down one eye, Jaune could admit that the white-haired girl was very beautiful.

"Even so, I'm sorry." She apologised again. "I should not have let my curiosity get the better of me, not when it comes to a member of the teaching staff."

"Please don't worry." Jaune urged as he laid a hand on her shoulder briefly, before smiling at her. Really, he hadn't even been to that place, but he was starting to feel incredibly guilty at having unknowingly used it. How bad had it really been for the poor people trapped there? "Not all my memories of Vacuo are bad, there were more good times in the years I spent there."

"I think that's the best way to remember them." Pyrrha offered as she smiled at him, a gentle smile that almost seemed to be congratulating him on making the more mature and pleasant answer. It almost made him blush. "If it's not too rude Professor. Might I ask how old you are?"

"I'm 20." He lied easily with a small shrug. "I was seventeen when the Academy went down."

"Three years. Did you spend the time training again?" Pyrrha asked as she tilted her head to one side, the move doing interesting things to her hair and her long, smooth, neck.

"I spent a year or two in the ruins, helping people escape. Once I had come to terms with what happened I travelled a little, helping people where I could, before applying to study here."

"Applying to study?" Weiss asked incredulously, causing Jaune to curse angrily in his mind. Damn it, he'd gotten so distracted by the two girls, and his memories of one of them less dressed the previous night, that he'd forgotten the lie Ozpin wanted him to stick to.

"Ah well, please keep it quiet but I wanted to join here as a student, even if I am a little old. But the Headmaster reviewed my credentials and decided I would suit far better as a Professor. In his words, three years fighting alone in the Grimmlands of Vacuo is more than any training can achieve. In his eyes, it is training and graduation all in one."

"You mean you could have been a student here?" The white-haired girl asked again, before bringing her hands down in front of her in apparent upset. "You could have joined _our_ team!" She complained loudly.

"I agree, that would have been fabulous." The redhead smiled at him easily.

"No way, our team!" A male voice from nearby crowed, as students gathered about the three of them.

"Ours!" Another argued, as the voices raised and Jaune sighed.

Yeah... he would have loved that...

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><p>"I see you survived the night." The Headmaster welcomed once the students had been launched off the cliffs and into the forest. If Jaune was honest, he would admit that he was glad he didn't have to face that prospect. He wasn't sure how he would have survived the fall, and still wasn't sure with these students. He didn't show his discomfort though, trusting that Ozpin and Goodwitch would not have literally killed this many students in front of his eyes.<p>

"Yes, though I'm a little exhausted." Jaune admitted with an easy shrug. Beside Ozpin stood Glynda Goodwitch, who was busy monitoring things on her scroll. Jaune could also make out Peter looking at his own behind them.

"That's to be expected. We won't keep you for too long here. In fact you and Peter are excused from the official assigning of the teams. We just need to get the initiation out of the way first." The man took a long sip of his coffee, before his eyes glanced to the left, where Glynda was busy. "Speaking of Mr Arc. Did you perhaps enjoy a nice cup of coffee this morning?"

"I did." Jaune nodded easily. "It was a very... impressive brew." Which was saying things lightly, he still felt energised, and the memory of the drink was almost enough to make him consider attacking the man in front of him. Who was _drinking it_ in front of him!

"I am glad to see you agree Mr Arc. Very glad to see."

"What's that Headmaster?" The female deputy asked with a raised brow as she regarded them. To Jaune's surprise, he almost thought he saw a brief flash of panic on the Headmaster's face before it was erased.

"We were talking about the launching." Ozpin lied easily, causing Jaune to feel a small amount of confusion. "Mr Arc. Not all agree with what we do, or why we do it. But we must protect what is important to us."

"The launching is perfectly safe in most cases." Glynda offered in agreement. "Thinking on the fly is an important skill for future hunters, I'm surprised anyone would disagree with this."

Jaune meanwhile raised an eyebrow at the Headmaster, who was ignoring Glynda and instead had raised his mug in front of his face, as if toasting it to Jaune, while his eyes slid to Glynda, and he nodded his head sideways in her direction.

"I agree it is baffling. But some believe it is unhealthy, and dangerous." The Headmaster replied. Again lifting his coffee towards Jaune, and nodding towards Glynda.

_Oh..._ Jaune realised, nodding once towards the Headmaster to show he understood. Still, it was strange to think Glynda could be against what was obviously the best coffee on the planet. Perhaps she simply hadn't been enlightened yet.

"Well yes... being launched into a Grimm infested forest _could_ be considered unhealthy..." The woman in question offered with a bemused expression on her face.

"Ah, we have our first pair!" Peter interrupted with a shout, causing the three of them to quickly pull out their scrolls and activate the feeds that had been put into them. Jaune watched as the scroll began to display an image which showed the girl from earlier, Pyrrha, as she clapped a brown-haired girl on the shoulder, smiling kindly.

Wait were those bunny ears? He zoomed in a little further to see that the girl indeed had a pair of brown bunny ears on her head, a rabbit faunus by the looks of things.

They had a bunny girl...

_This is just fucking unfair! I want to be on that team!_ His mind wailed at the injustice, even as he couldn't stop his eyes trailing over the girl's cute face. God damn it all.

"Velvet Scarlatina." Glynda Goodwitch spoke from nearby, and to his surprise he could hear a faint level of sadness in her voice.

"Is there something I should know about her?" Jaune asked, noticing that even Peter had a slightly fond expression on his face.

"Velvet was a second year at this academy, and already part of a team." Glynda answered him. "She was a member of team CFVY, also known as team Coffee." As the woman paused, Jaune spared a moment to take another look at the Headmaster, this time with a flat expression on his face. Yes it was the best drink ever, but _really!?_

The man in question simply took another sip, a lost expression on his face. Jaune couldn't tell if he was thinking about the girl they were talking about, or was simply lost in his own coffee-induced haze.

"What happened to the team?" He asked of the two other teachers instead.

"Team Coffee is still active." Peter answered for him. "The four of them were a good team, close comrades too. Real aspiring hunters. Close as family."

"Velvet was injured on her first practice mission however." Glynda interrupted. "Though not life-threatening the injury to her leg was bad enough that it took months to heal, and beyond that a few months of physiotherapy for her to regain full usage of it. Though she is an adept dust mage, she also relies on martial arts involving her legs, so she could not fight if she did not recover."

"Before we knew it, ten months had passed before she recovered. Though she had kept up with all her school work thanks to the help of her team..." Glynda trailed off sadly. "She could not pass the year. Her combat skills were too low, and she would have been at great risk on future missions. It was for her own good that we made the decision to make her retake the year."

"Did she not take it well?" Jaune guessed, wondering how he might feel to be taken away from friends like that.

"Velvet's a gentle one." Peter replied as he shook his head. "She was understanding as always. Her team on the other hand..." He laughed before grinning. "Like any true team, they were not happy and refused a new member. Said there could be no replacement, and that this was just til Velvet got back on her feet, and that they would take her back."

It sounded nice, Jaune thought to himself with a smile. This was all things he would miss out on as a teacher, so it was nice to imagine himself in that situation.

"That is unlikely to happen however." The Headmaster entered the conversation, showing that he had been listening all along. "For now, she is a first year once again. And Pyrrha Nikos is to be her new partner."

The conversation moved onto more casual topics as Jaune scrolled through the various camera feeds, paying attention half-heartedly as names he didn't recognised were paired together. He even pointed out a few guys meeting himself to the others. The first to make eye contact rule had been easy enough to enforce, especially since most of the pairs had stuck with their preferred choices without too much complaint.

From what he could find of the people he had met, Ruby had been paired up with Weiss in what was sure to be a rather volatile partnership. The last he had seen of them hadn't left the best impression, as the two had almost hurt one another in a friendly-fire accident. For Ruby's sake, he hoped they could put aside their little differences.

Yang... He shivered as he thought name in his mind. The blonde devil had partnered with the quiet book girl with the legs from the previous night, Blake Belladonna as Glynda had made him aware. That partnership was bound to turn a few heads, all of them male. Ren and Nora had partnered so quickly, that he had to assume some level of foul play, but the teachers didn't seem to care, and he liked the two enough not to bring it up.

From Ozpin's explanation, the ruins in the centre contained chess pieces, and the piece chosen by each pair, would dictate the teams of four. Bishops to bishops, knights to knights, and vice-versa. Apparently they'd skipped the pawns and used both the black and white pieces from the back row. Odd, but he supposed it made sense, and was fairly simple in terms of sorting the teams out.

"There's a big battle at the ruins." Peter spoke suddenly from nearby, causing Jaune to spare him a worried glance before looking back at his own scroll and cycling through the cameras. "That's a large nevermore." The teacher commented as Jaune finally found the feed.

Oh Good Lord... He could make out eight students, literally the eight that he knew and had made tentative friends with, arranged in a group on a bridge as a huge nevermore dived at them. The books he'd read had said they ranged from between one metre to a few, but that thing had to be at least forty metres across!

"This looks interesting." The Headmaster whispered as the four of them all finally aligned on the same camera feed.

"It looks dangerous." Jaune spoke before he could stop himself, concern for his new friends warring with his sense of self-preservation. How could they be ready for such a monster, when they hadn't even started their first day of training!?

"Your concern for your students does you credit Mr Arc." The Headmaster spoke easily. "But worry not, Doctor Oobleck is nearby, and ready to intervene should the situation require it."

"Oobleck could kill that thing in his sleep." Peter laughed as he gave Jaune a thumbs up as encouragement. Jaune let out a deep breath in an effort to calm himself, but found that while the knowledge that they were safe did prevent some of the fear. He couldn't fully dismiss it.

It was so big, and they were so small.

"The two teams are splitting up." Glynda analysed, as the eight figures broke into two sets of four. Jaune watched as the black-haired gunman Ren shouted instructions to his team-mates, directing them to open fire on the Nevermore. It seemed he had a pair of automatic pistols from the look of it, while Pyrrha's weapon was capable of turning into a rifle. Nora... the one who wanted to fight him... had a grenade launcher.

Oh Gods no.

The bunny-girl, Velvet, stood in place but seemed to be speaking quietly to herself before pointing a hand towards the creature. From in front of her a large conflagration of fire seemed to form before hurtling towards the creature and slamming into its feathers. The monstrosity turned to face them, offering its back to the other four.

"They're distracting it?" He offered uncertainly, getting an agreeing sound from Glynda as she watched the scene on her own scroll. The nevermore dived towards the four, as the man in green once again shouted something that had them scattering. On the way past, the Nevermore clipped one of the students, sending the orange-haired girl spiralling as she slammed into the ground.

"It hit her!" He spoke quickly.

"Her aura absorbed the damage, no need for Oobleck to step in yet." Ozpin cut in.

Her aura? Jaune's eyes widened. Oh Holy flying crap! Aura! How had he forgotten. He hadn't, he'd planned to bring it up at some point when he had gotten in as a student and have it unlocked, but with the current change of plans and his constant state of near panic, he had forgotten.

He. Jaune Arc. Professor of Beacon Academy.

Hadn't unlocked his aura.

_Can they sense it!? What if they notice?_ Well that was obvious. If they noticed, he was out, instantly. The mere idea that a hunter trained for seven years in the Vacuo Academy for the gifted would not have his aura unlocked was freaking laughable. He _had_ to have it unlocked.

"See, they brought it down without too much problem." Peter cheered as Jaune blinked in surprise. Wait, it was over!? He'd only stopped paying attention for what felt like a short time. And yet as his eyes went back to the screen he could see that the beast was already crashing into the valley, sans its head. With Ruby Rose, the shy fifteen year old girl perched on a cliff, cape flowing behind her with a scythe in hand.

_Okay. That's awesome._

"I'm sure you're glad to see your little addition working out, eh Ozpin?" Peter laughed as the man in question simply smiled enigmatically. Jaune wondered what he meant by that, but was still too frayed to question it.

"The teams are all making their way back here now." Glynda interrupted. "The locators in the chess pieces are signalling, so we know who has what. Now comes the difficult part." She sighed out as she massaged at her forehead, causing Jaune to look a little worried.

"Yes. This part of the year is always the worst." The Headmaster agreed, while Peter simply said something about wishing Oobleck was here to help them.

"Dare I even ask?" Jaune asked anyway.

"It is tradition for the teams to have code names to represent themselves. These must be four letters long, that use the initials of each member of the team. These must also then form a full word." The Headmaster seemed to sigh after he explained. "It is a tradition I've not yet been able to kill."

"I shall claim team CRDL." Glynda Goodwitch piped up quickly. "Henceforth, they shall be known as Team Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester."

"Hardly fair... easy..." Peter grumbled as he began coming up with names for another quartet that Jaune didn't recognise. Miss Goodwitch seemed to ignore Peter's ramblings as she adjusted her glasses, looking for all the world like she considered herself done with the whole ordeal.

"I shall take the team with Miss Rose." Ozpin offered Jaune, leaving him with the only other team he recognised, consisting of Velvet, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora. Idly he wrote the names and the letters out on his scroll, using the touch-screen to drag them about into different combinations.

Team NPRV... naprivo- okay, he couldn't think of any words to fit that. He continued the exercise for a few moments before becomign frustrated. Seriously, it was harder than it looked and there just didn't seem to be any words that fit. It was the V every time!

"Henceforth, the team consisting of Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao-Long, shall be known as team RWBY, short for Ruby, and led by said person." Ozpin declared after a few minutes, looking quite pleased with himself as he took a long sip of coffee.

Beside Jaune, Glynda stared at him. As did Peter.

"Ruby isn't spelled with a W." Glynda opined for the three of them. "And don't you think having the entire team named after her might go to her head?"

"I'm sorry. Cardin-al?" The Headmaster replied easily, actually making Glynda cough uncomfortably for a moment.

"A lovely name. CRDL and RWBY. Perfect." The woman surrendered.

"Can we use the last names?" Jaune asked quickly, wondering how far he was allowed to stretch the cheating. The Headmaster shrugged.

"Honestly you can use anything you can argue makes sense, as long as it gets the job done." The man answered back, with a bored expression on his face. Besides him, Glynda launched into a quick tirade on tradition, and the importance of, that he seemed to tune out.

Last names... but he could also maybe cheat on the V... much like how the W had been used to make a U...

Team PVRN. Short for... Team Pornogra- Okay, that was probably a bad idea. Especially since there was a bunny-girl on the team, and it was three girls to one guy... one lucky bastard. His hormones really were acting up too much if he was starting to think like this. That or the sleep deprivation was kicking in.

Still it was better that he had no sleep and was stuck with a brain puzzle than having to fight a big ass nevermore... wait... it wouldn't be spelled correctly, but maybe he could cheat on this one time. And it made sense considering he'd been the one to make the orders during the fight, so he was probably the best choice as the leader anyway.

"Team RVNN." Jaune spoke, drawing their attention as he did so. "Team Raven, led by Lie Ren."

"A fine name indeed." Ozpin concluded, a smile coming to his lips. "I think they will be most pleased with the name as well."

"And we finished earlier than expected. Good work Jaune." Peter congratulated as he stifled a yawn behind a meaty fist. Seeing the action caused Jaune to instinctively mimic it.

"Thank you for your work today, and taking over my shift. Why don't the two of you retire for the evening?" The female deputy offered with a small rare smile that Jaune wondered if he was only half imagining. She looked good when she smiled.

"Indeed." The Headmaster agreed. "We will handle assigning teams and rooms, Mr Arc will be aiding Port tomorrow in lessons, followed by Oobleck in the afternoon. For now, take the chance to rest."

"Will do. Come on lad." Peter urged as he nodded his head towards the Academy, and sweet rest. Jaune knew though, that rest wouldn't come until he had sorted out his recent problem. He needed his aura unlocking, and fast. There was no way he could talk to the teachers about it, and the students were an obvious no as well. It would need to be someone outside of Beacon Academy.

Someone who wouldn't rat him out, who would have no connections to the place... Perhaps he could ask that guy he'd paid for those fake documents if he knew anyone. It was risky, but surely there was someone out there who would sell the ability to unlock someone's aura... maybe even in the criminal underground...

_Risky... but in for a penny..._

_What was his name again?... Roman?_

* * *

><p><strong>UH OH JAUNE!<strong>

**And you guys thought I'd forgotten about his aura, for shame!**

**Not too much inclusion of the other characters in this one sadly, since by definition they needed to go to initiation, and Jaune could not. I'll say in advance that some characters will need more reason that first impressions to fall for the Good Professor. Blake and Weiss being key examples. But I have plans in place, don't worry. There was a lot more teacher on teacher interaction, which is something I hope you enjoyed, as I do want to have them as characters just as major in Jaune's life as the students. After all, they are his comrades and employers! His only team against the hordes of students! Also yes, the Coffee might become a bit of a running gag. I just got thinking on how Ozpin and Oobleck are so obsessed with it, and came up with a reason. The Beacon Special Brew! Coffee so powerful, so beautiful... that it must be protected like a endangered species. **

**I hope you were all happy with the way Velvet was portrayed, though their combat scene was so short. I didn't want to waste time waffling over things that were already in the series... and if four of them could beat the Nevermore... then they would have less trouble without the Deathstalker...**

**Aww Jaune... you not being there made it **_**easier**_** for them! That's sad. It was hinted at in here that Team CFY - which still spells Coffee without the V, will be getting involved. They still love their little bunny, and aren't willing to just leave her alone to experience the first year again. Expect some clashes... and oh, maybe Coco will see something she likes in our dear Professor. **

**As always if you enjoyed, I hope you will leave me a short review. I appreciate the input, and it always makes me laugh to hear your ideas. As you can see I have taken a few from people, though I apologise if I couldn't name all of you. Sun and Neptune will be here in a few episodes I would imagine, can't keep those two away can we!?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, wow this was a little late my apologies. Work has been hectic lately, and I recently had to re-write a 450 page legal document including our employment contracts, HR practices, and out dismissal/punishment/grievance/claims procedures, and omfg it all burns my brain. Worked all last weekend, will be working all this weekend too. **

**I received a lot of reviews, and remind people that if you log in and review me, you can leave me a question if you want and I will try to reply – as many people here will know. This chapter feels like a bit of a filler, because as many have noticed and asked – this WILL diverge from the series soon enough. But it cannot do so, until at least the first few days are over, so this chapter obviously does follow the series canon. Again I've tried to skip over most of the repetitive dialogue that we have all heard before. **

**Also sorry if it feels like I'm throwing romance on too strongly, I am using a lot of typical rom-com kind of jokes and things, but it won't be forced. Yang is interested in him, and teasing him, but she doesn't fancy him. So far the only one with a crush is Ruby, and Pyrrha is half-interested but hasn't had a chance to chat with him yet. Oh and Glynda feels half-motherly, half-interested in him. **

**Well... and Jaune x Peter Bromance. BROMACIA!**

**Jaune is a guy though, so he fancies everyone who is cute. At least that's how I recall my teen years being.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5 – White Lies<p>

* * *

><p>Jaune rubbed his hands together nervously as he made his way towards what would be his biggest test in his new faux career. So far he'd done little but stand around and talk, yet now he was going to be doing what he was hired for, and that realisation was terrifying.<p>

It was time to teach.

Or support a teacher anyway. Peter to be precise, since he was in charge of the Grimm Studies class, and it probably made sense for the student's first lessons in Beacon to be focused on what was their primary enemy. Jaune expected it to be more of an introduction to the school than an actual lesson, so hopefully he wouldn't have to do much. Also, Peter had been teaching alone for years, so was he even necessary?

Right now the students were most likely in the cafeteria getting breakfast, something he wouldn't have minded doing himself. Instead he'd quickly made a sandwich from the supplies thoughtfully left in his cupboards, and downed some milk before rushing to the classroom. From what he remembered of school, the teachers were always there before the students. That was just the way it was. So he would probably need to get to each class twenty minutes or so early.

That would also give him some time to do a quick recap on the syllabus and material, so he didn't make a fool of himself and get fired/arrested - delete as applicable.

Before he'd gone to sleep the previous day he'd made sure to send a message to his… contact? Within the criminal world… okay, maybe that was too strong a word, it was just someone Jaune had been put in touch with when he'd been looking for a forgery. But it was his only option. Thankfully the man had returned a message by the morning, simply stating that he could have it done if Jaune came into Vale, but that he would `owe him` a favour.

Tit-for-tat, Jaune was sure a simple crook wouldn't want anything too drastic from him, and he was earning good money now it seemed. He just needed to find a chance to go into Vale.

"Morning lad." Peter greeted as Jaune opened the door to the classroom and stepped inside. "Looking forward to your first day?"

"Somewhat." Jaune replied easily as he let his eyes look around the room. The layout reminded him a little of an amphitheatre, with seats arranged in a semi-circle, spiralling upwards and outwards, with a large display area at the front where Peter stood. There were a number of boards on the back wall facing the students, with diagrams of Grimm. As well as…. Wait, was that a solid gold bust of Peter?

"He's a handsome one, isn't he?" Peter whispered, as he clapped a heavy hand on Jaune's shoulders, making the younger man roll his eyes. Sometimes he couldn't tell if Peter was being genuinely narcissistic, or just sarcastic. Before he could comment on it though, his eyes were drawn to what appeared to be a cage, which was… shaking.

Jaune stared at it for a few moments, hearing some growling and snuffling from within. Considering the school, its aims and the class's name – it wasn't hard to guess what lay inside.

"Peter… did you bring a live Grimm to class?" Jaune deadpanned as he palmed his own face.

"Maybe?" The older man hedged. "Not that I'm saying I did, but if I did then we'll have a student face it, it'll be a real motivator!"

Part of Jaune, the honest side of him – which admittedly had taken a beating in the past few days, wanted to object to the idea. The students were experiencing their first day; they might still be tired from initiation. And wasn't it their job as teachers to protect them?

A larger part of him simply shrugged.

_Better them than me_.

Besides… Peter was a teacher, right? He surely knew what he was doing.

"Sure, why not." Jaune agreed with a disappointed sigh, aimed more at himself than the teacher. Morals – 0, Shame – 1.

"Shh, the students are coming. Don't tell them, I want it to be a surprise." Peter whispered sneakily as a few students began making their way into the room and taking seats. Jaune just stared at the man.

It was a six foot by six foot cage, shrouded within by darkness. With glowing eyes, shaking and growling coming from it. Stood in the middle of the freaking room!

_Whatever. Beyond my pay grade._ Jaune grumbled internally as he made his way over to the door as the last few students entered. With the clock ticking down to nine, it was probably time to close the door and get started.

Just as his hand touched the door knob itself, the wood flew open with great force, slamming his hand painfully aside, and leaving him open as something heavy smashed into him. His everything protested in pain as he slammed into the floor, before the wind was driven out of his lungs as a number of weights landed on his bruised body, pinning him to the tiles.

"Made it!" A familiar voice cried out in joy from above him, not that he could see anything with his vision blocked by shadow, smooth legs and…

_Oh fuck me…_

"Wow Blake." The voice of the blonde bombshell from the other day drawled. "That's bold of you."

Jaune's guilty pleasure was torn away from him as one of the smooth creamy thighs moved quickly, the equally smooth but incredibly _hard_ knee slamming into the side of his face as the girl rolled off his face to protect her dignity. Cheek bruising from the pain, Jaune tilted his head to the side to see the black-haired girl who had been reading a few nights ago on her knees, staring at him with a dark red hue on her cheeks. Her hands holding her skirt down as she knelt on the floor.

On a side note, he'd been right. She _did_ have amazing legs.

"J-Jaune!?" A panicked voice on top of him whispered, as his blue eyes left the embarrassed girl with the bow to look up towards the now panicked looking girl who was sat on his chest. With her legs either side of him, beneath his armpits. Despite the uniform he had seen the other students wearing, she still had that red hood poking behind her.

"Morning Ruby." He greeted with a sigh as he let his head roll back to the floor in pain. The girl squeaked at his greeting, but tried to wave back with a nervous smile. "Late for class?"

"Maybe…" She mumbled shyly, while she fiddled cutely with her fingers. Idly Jaune noticed a few other people picking themselves up beside him. Including the black haired boy he'd assigned to be a leader, and his red-haired teammate. It seemed only three or so had landed on him, which was pretty lucky.

"Such enthusiasm!" A deep voice bellowed as Jaune tilted his head back to look at Peter, who was watching the display with a smile on his face. "So eager to learn, an inspiration to us all!" Jaune simply rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to get off me?" He asked of Ruby instead, who blushed suddenly and literally vanished from his chest faster than his eyes could actually process. All that remained were a few rose petals for some reason.

Vision unobstructed, he could now see his nightmare. The blonde, Yang, was sat cross legged on his crotch, her crossed legs hiding anything from view, but hinting at everything.

"Yo." She greeted with an easy grin.

"Off." Jaune ordered before his hormones could get the better of him, he briefly considered bucking his hips to try and move her, but resisted in case it caused things to rub against other things… which _would_ be the end of his tenuous self-control.

"Aww, you gave Ruby a choice." The girl teased, as she climbed to her feet and offered Jaune a hand. Jaune accepted it and the girl hoisted him to his feet with a strength that nearly tore his arm from his shoulder socket. Okay, so he should probably add super strength to the list of reasons why being in her presence was a bad idea.

As the students made their way to the seats, to the general laughter of most of the others, Jaune couldn't help but be strangely thankful of the aches and pains along his body. If he wasn't so focused on the damage that had been done to him then he'd probably have been blushing at the sights he'd seen – and that might have been noticed.

Still, having read up a little on aura, after he had realised his wasn't unlocked – he knew he couldn't show any of his pain since his aura _should_ have shielded him. Instead he walked up and stood by Peter, making sure to keep an easy expression on his face.

"Monsters!" Professor Port bellowed suddenly, causing many of the students to jump, even as Jaune felt like he was being pushed forwards by the sheer force of it. "Demons, prowlers of the night… the Grimm have many names." He began striding in front of the desks as he said this. "But I like to call them… prey."

_Oh Gods, he's going to do what I think he is, isn't he!? _Jaune panicked, recognising the mannerisms and speech for what Peter had put him through while they were watching the students. He prayed he was wrong.

"Let me tell you a story…"

_Arghhhhhhh!_

* * *

><p>Ruby Rose struggled to stifle a yawn as she paid approximately 0% attention to the teacher who was rambling in the middle of the room. Only noticing from the corner of her eye the way he was waving his arms animatedly. Wasn't Grimm studies supposed to be interesting? Geez… they had rushed for this!?<p>

The thought quickly brought a blush to her face, which she tried to hide behind her arms. Good Gods, that had been humiliating. Bad enough that they had almost been late to their first lesson, but to literally crash into and near enough smother a teacher? And worse, _him!_

_Ughhh… way to go Ruby. Impressive. You're really going to impress him with your maturity like this._

Still, she thought, as the blush remained on her cheeks. At least he was more interesting than Professor Port.

Jaune. Or Professor Jaune, anyway. Instead of speaking he simply stood there patiently, his arms crossed behind his back and his face devoid of any real emotion. She could just make out the silver of his breastplate peeking over the top of where his jacket was buttoned, giving him a knightly figure. Not for Jaune the lessons and boredom. He was a _hunter._ He was _cool._

She sighed dreamily as she let her silver eyes roam over him for a few minutes, noticing the way his blue eyes slowly scanned the students from left to right as he waited for the Professor to finish. She was sure if it was him talking, then it would have been much more interesting.

She did feel bad for Blake though. As embarrassing as it had been for her, sitting on her crush's chest… and it had been a really comfortable chest too. Blake had inadvertently flashed her teacher, and was clearly mortified. Idly, she looked to the side to check, only to see Blake burying her face in a book. Ruby couldn't tell if she was actively reading it, or just embarrassed.

At least she hadn't done anything like that.

Still, that didn't stop the fact that her attention was not at all on the teacher she was supposed to be learning from, as the pen loosely clutched in her fingers doodled away.

"Ruby!" Her partner hissed, trying to catch her attention with a furious expression on her face. Ruby caught it from the corner of her eye, but chose to ignore it. It hardly seemed she could do anything to please Weiss, despite that the other day at initiation she had promised to be less cold. She couldn't pay attention to the man, he was so damned boring. He was literally committing mass murder… of _air._

Idly letting out a sigh she looked down at the paper on her desk, before blushing at the image she had drawn and scribbling over it frantically in black ink. A furtive look in both directions showed Yang with her face resting on one hand in apparent boredom, and Weiss, whose teeth were grating together.

"Who thinks themselves a true hunter!?" The boring old voice called out, even as Weiss' hands slammed down onto the desk in frustration.

"I do!" The heiress shouted back angrily, as she stormed to her feet.

* * *

><p>"I wonder what was up with Weiss." Ruby mumbled worriedly as she followed after Yang and Blake, who were walking out of the classroom together. She thought the fight had gone pretty well, and hadn't her advice helped Weiss find the weakness of the Boarbatusk?<p>

"Eh, she's probably just cranky cuz the lesson was boring as Hell." Her older sister yawned back, holding a fist in front of her mouth. "I mean seriously, that guy can _talk_."

"I'm sure there were valuable lessons hidden in his tales." The quieter Blake defended, making Yang raise an eyebrow.

"And those were?" She drawled, causing Blake to flush slightly and look away.

"I didn't say I found them." She surrendered while Ruby giggled.

"At least Rubes got some nice eye-candy eh?" Yang teased suddenly, rushing forwards to pull her into a headlock. "I saw you looking sis!"

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby complained loudly, struggling as hard as she could to free herself from her sister's iron grip. On the other hand, with her face squashed into Yang's side, no one could see how badly she was blushing, which was a plus.

"I didn't see anything special." Blake deadpanned back as she rolled her eyes, making Yang smirk.

"You're just pissy cuz you flashed him." Blake hissed angrily at the blonde's words, though Ruby did notice her cheeks darken a little in embarrassment. Idly she hoped it was embarrassment more than the other girl being attracted to the guy. Maybe it was just a silly crush, but she didn't want to have to compete with someone like _Blake_ of all people!

"I have _no_ idea what you both see in the man." Blake grumbled as she turned away.

"Didn't you see how he placed himself between the Boarbatusk and the class? Like he was ready to protect us at a moment's notice." Ruby defended her crush, waving her arms even while she remained locked under Yang's elbow.

"He looked more nervous than protective."

"Nervous because he had to defend us all. No doubt he didn't want to fail." Ruby argued back. When the Boarbatusk had been revealed to the class, they'd all been surprised and shocked. Such a Grimm wasn't a big threat to most of them, but considering they were all unarmed in class it was still a risky proposition to fight it. But while most people had been focused on the fight between the Grimm and Weiss… she had noticed Jau- Professor Arc, slowly sidling his way closer to the mass of students, and away from the Grimm.

Even though it looked like Weiss would be fine… and surely the other teacher would have stepped in? He still moved closer to the mass of unarmed students, no doubt ready to give his life to protect them.

Like a true hero!

"Ugh." Blake grunted in frustration. "And your excuse, yang?"

The blonde finally released Ruby, as she tapped a finger to her lip as if in deep thought. Except Ruby knew her sister, and most thought with her wasn't exactly _deep._

"Eh, I just like the chase and the challenge." She answered with a grin after a few moments. Making Blake moan even as Ruby rolled her eyes. "He's cute and all, but he'll have to go a little further to _really_ get my blood pumping. But for now it's nice to have a guy who doesn't fall all over themselves around me."

Blake seemed to throw her hands into the air in disgust, choosing to ignore what she couldn't understand, even as Ruby smiled fondly at the two of them. It was nice to see her team getting on so well, and seeing partners get along. She just wished she could have the same relationship with her own partner…

"Guys, I'm going to see what's up with Weiss." She suddenly declared in a moment of clarity. How could she call herself a leader, or a friend, if she didn't try to solve the problem they had between the two of them? "I'll catch up with you both later, kay?"

Dashing off, Ruby spared a quick wave for her two friends as she headed back to the class, determined to do what a leader was meant to do.

* * *

><p>"Your first class, my boy, good job!" Peter complimented as he slammed his hand into Jaune's back repeatedly, the pneumatic force threatening to kill the younger man.<p>

"T-th-anks!" Jaune accepted, as he finally got out from under the man's arm and began straightening his coat. "Don't you think it was a bit risky letting a wild Grimm on the class though? What if she hadn't been able to kill it?"

Knowing that without his own aura, or any real combat skills, he wasn't going to be able to do _anything_ to stop it. He'd subtly wandered over towards the more competent students. Surely _one_ of them must be some kind of badass martial artist, or had a semblance that shot lasers out of their eyes or something.

"Bah!" The man dismissed easily. "If she'd fallen to the creature then she hardly deserved to be here. Plus I would have intervened before any true harm was done. Or I'm sure you would have."

"Yeah… sure." Jaune nervously laughed back. Definitely no risk right? "Are all of your lessons going to be… practical lessons?"

"Alas, no." The older man bemoaned, even as his entire frame slumped. "Procuring live Grimm is an arduous and difficult task, fraught with peril and danger! Convincing Glynda to let me assign the task as homework is fraught with even _more_ peril."

"Well that's a shame." Jaune hazarded as he internally sighed in relief. Thank the Gods Miss Goodwitch was there to stop this man.

"Beyond that though, my boy! I am shamed and most awed at your abilities with the young women!" The older man suddenly burst out, arms wide as though to envelop Jaune in a back-breaking hug. Thankfully he did not. "To garner such attention so quickly, even in my youth I might have struggled at such a task!"

"Okay." Jaune mumbled as his face flushed with embarrassment. "You realise that was a complete accident!? Right? They just ran into me!"

"Oh, my _boy_." Peter comforted as he shook his head in apparent amusement. "Strange are the ways of women, but nothing is done without reason. To you it might have looked like an accident. But to them! They were staking their claim, marking their territory!"

"Are you suggesting they were trying to pee on me?"

"Mysterious are the ways of women!"

"…"

"But you must resist it Jaune." The older man sagely advised with arms crossed.

"I realise that as a teacher, such would be frowned upon. I can control myself, don't worry about it." Jaune lied. Truthfully he didn't know if he would be able to resist if any of these girls were _actually_ interested in him. If his ambition was to become a hero, then getting a girlfriend was like a dream even beyond that. And these girls!? Was this an academy for hunters or super-models!?

"Well they're of age, so it wouldn't be a big deal. But the main reason you need to resist is because I have ten thousand lien riding on you!"

Jaune paused and stared at the man.

"You gambled on me?" He deadpanned, somehow unsurprised at the admission coming from what he had at first assumed was a very professional man. Instead he just sighed and let his face rest in the palm of his hand. "Who else?"

"Just myself, Bartholomew and Ozpin."

Great, so his own boss was betting on whether he would crack under the pressure and abuse his position over the students of Beacon Academy? That wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

"Wouldn't you telling me about this count as cheating though? It would make me try to spite you all by resisting as hard as I…." Jaune paused as his mind clicked. "You bet I'd resist, didn't you?"

The older man simply winked as Jaune sighed. Sometimes it was so easy to assume the man was a few marbles short, but he certainly was sneaky when he needed to be.

"Professor Port!" A female voice shouted out as the white-haired teen Weiss Schnee burst into the room, before pausing. "Oh, I apologise if I am interrupting anything. I was hoping to speak to the Professor?"

"That's fine." Jaune offered as he stepped away. "I'll leave you with him." It was the least the man deserved, Jaune felt, as he slipped from the room and escaped. If she was going to press charges for the endangerment of a student, then Peter could solve it on his own!

In the meantime, he could make his way to the staff room for a well-deserved rest before his next class. Grimm incident notwithstanding, he'd been pretty lucky in Grimm studies to not have to say, or do, anything at all. Though he doubted his good fortune would last.

It was while he was lost in his thoughts that he heard some faint sniffling from nearby, making him slow his pace almost automatically as he listened in on the sound. You couldn't live in a house with as many sisters as he had, and not recognise the sound as someone trying to hold in their tears.

_Aww man…_ Jaune's mind complained as he turned to head towards the sound. _But coffee! Coffeeeee!_

"Ruby?" Jaune whispered as he finally came upon the scene, seeing the small red-hooded girl with her face turned down towards the ground, shoulders stiff. At hearing his voice she seemed to leap backwards, quickly rubbing her sleeve across her face and grinning.

"Hiya Professor!" She greeted in a peppy voice.

"What's wrong Ruby?" He instead asked, knowing full well that he was a sucker for any cute animal looking injured, and that it only got about four hundred times worse when his brother instincts began to kick in as well. The girl's frame hitched a little as she let out a small hiccup, but otherwise refused to meet his eyes.

"Nothing, sir."

Letting out a sigh Jaune knelt down before placing himself against the wall so he was sitting down. Idly he taped the ground to his right, insisting that she sit next to him. He definitely hadn't ever thought that when he applied to Beacon, he would be trying to comfort a cute girl, who wouldn't answer him because she didn't want to break the student's cardinal rule.

Don't tell the teachers.

"You know, I said you could call me Jaune outside of lessons." A quick look in both directions told him that the corridor was pretty much empty. "I'm only a few years older than you, and it feels weird to be a teacher."

"Hmm…" The girl hummed noncommittally, drawing a sigh from him. The whole comforting thing had seemed a lot easier in his mind. Just walk up, say some nice words, she'd feel better, right?

"I still thought I'd be with my team now too." _Thought I'd be ON a team…_ "But things don't always work that way. Things you don't expect go wrong, and before you know it, you're in too deep and there doesn't seem to be a way out."

Then suddenly you're responsible for looking after people who are far more competent and skilled than you are, but you're meant to teach them things you don't even know yourself…

"I'm not even sure what I'm saying. I'm not very good at helping people." He shuffled quietly next to her. "But you're in a better position than me, even now. You have your team, and you're good friends with them. You've got your entire career ahead of you. Everything should be bright for you. Which is why I'm not sure what's got you down."

"I'm a bad leader." The younger girl whispered, barely audible to him, though he caught it, just.

"Everyone is." He shot back quickly, causing her to recoil in surprise as she stared at him. Internally his mind whirled as he tried to recall the old lessons and tips his father had given him about being a hunter… but they had been when he was naught but a child. "Well, think about it… you've been a leader for what, one day, two if you count initiation? You haven't learned anything yet about being a leader. So how can you, or anyone here, be a good one?"

"Ehhhh?" The girl whined in confusion, making him frown. Okay, he really _was_ bad at comforting people, that was official. He wanted to be able to offer advice from one leader to another, as his fake records suggested he might. Instead he drew inspiration from his own actual past.

"I hate these little labels." Jaune continued. "Weak, unconfident, not good enough. What do any of them even matter if you never actually get the chance to learn to _be_ better?" It was the exact problem he had faced in trying to become a Hunter. He was so _sure_ he could have done it… if they had let him into Signal. He would have worked harder than _anyone_, but he wasn't good enough… and they never gave him the chance to get better! "So I guess what I'm saying is that you shouldn't worry about it. Just learn, and try to be a better leader, then you will become a great leader."

"Those are wise words indeed Mr Arc." A voice commented from their left, causing the two to scramble hurriedly to their feet. The Headmaster of Beacon Academy stood watching them, a curious smile on his features. "You should listen to them."

"Headmaster!" Ruby gasped as she quickly tried to smooth her skirt. Jaune clambered to his own feet a little slower, wondering if he should be embarrassed at being caught like that by his employer.

"At ease Miss Rose." The older man offered with a smile and quick sip of his coffee. "I only truly caught the end of your little conversation, but you'll find that our new Professor is very correct in what he says." The white haired man smiled down at the both of them, and gave a quick nod to Jaune to show he supported his actions.

"Your leaders are chosen based on the abilities shown during the initiation, your very _potential_ to become strong leaders." The older man continued as he stared into the middle distance. Despite the solemnity of the words, Jaune couldn't help but remember that they had actually chosen the leaders based on making the team names work. Then again, if what they were saying was true – it didn't matter who became the leader, because everyone here had the potential if trained right.

Sneaky.

"-and that is why you must keep your head high and push onwards, as a Huntress in training."

"I understand sir! Thank you, and you too Ja- Professor Arc." The smaller girl cheerily thanked them, before sprinting off with her enhanced speed. The two men watched her fade into the distance.

"That was a good thing you did there." His boss spoke softly once they were alone, his face falling back into a semi-neutral mask that Jaune could not glean any emotion or purpose from. Jaune scratched the back of his head nervously. He hadn't felt particularly kind or selfless doing that. His entire reason for helping her was selfish in the sense that she was someone he considered a friend… and that she had reminded him of his sisters. He wasn't sure he would have done anything to help, had it been some unknown person.

"As teachers it is our responsibility to guide and shape the future generations. We do this through our lessons, and where we can – excursions into the Grimm infested forests."

Okay, that sounded ominous, he really needed to get a chance to go into Vale and see that Roman fellow this weekend!

"However, even we teachers cannot account for all variables, and as adults far removed from their lives, we often cannot intervene in some of the more inter-personal relations that form. Or the problems that arise from them."

"Do you mean they won't come to us with problems because we're older than them?" Jaune guessed.

"They won't come to _us_." The Headmaster agreed, before turning to look straight into Jaune's eyes. "Someone more around their age however, they might feel more comfortable with."

_Aw shit, he's planning something._ Jaune's brain groaned as he shuffled under the older man's stare.

"What do you have in mind?" He simply asked, knowing that at the end of the day the man _was_ his boss, and any idea he had, Jaune would be forced to at least attempt anyway. Damn contracts!

"I have long considered the position of a student counsellor. Someone who can be approached more easily by the students when they might need aid or support." The man once again looked at Jaune. "Someone more easily approached than myself… more trusted than Peter, calmer than Oobleck… and less intimidating than-"

"I think I get where this is going." Jaune interrupted blandly before the Headmaster could list every single member of the faculty, along with the reasons why they wouldn't be suitable for the role. Personally, he didn't think he would be any better. What did he know of the problems of students in their lives, or what could be done to help them?

"I am glad I was not too obtuse." The older man smiled back, though the expression looked more like he had successfully sprung a trap and was now admiring his prey. Jaune had no misconceptions about where he stood in the analogy.

"I know nothing of counselling."

"You knew nothing of teaching."

"I'm not qualified."

"No one else is."

Jaune sighed as the other man continued to sip peacefully from his coffee, waiting for him to bring up another excuse that he could dismiss with a simple one liner. The blonde instead just nodded.

"I'll consider it."

"That's all I ask. Walk with me." Ozpin motioned for him to follow as the two of them travelled through the corridors of the school. Jaune could see students moving about everywhere, some chatting, while others sprinted back and forth. Some were studying, most just having fun in a free period.

"There are many things at Beacon we cannot teach. Some things we wish we might never have to teach." The Headmaster's voice was calm as they continued their journey. "As students move on in their studies they will be sent on missions outside the safety of the Academy. Away from the protective eyes of our teaching staff. Anything can happen."

"Most of these missions end successfully, and without trouble. But sometimes things go wrong. Death, injury… mistakes. Whatever the result, these leave irreparable scars on teams. People often do not know how to handle the grief of a lost teammate. Or even to handle any arguments that might arise amongst themselves. When tensions are high, cohesion falls apart. Without having a suitable outlet for that stress, teams can fall to pieces. Friendships can be lost."

"Can't the teachers advise students? Mandatory classes after failed missions or something?"

"Those who need help, rarely accept it." The Headmaster sighed, as the two of them entered the staffroom, an opulent room with more comfortable couches and low coffee tables than they actually had members of staff. "Do you recall miss Velvet Scarlatina, from initiation?" Jaune racked his memory for the name… it was the girl he hadn't actually met in person yet, the bunny faunus. She had looked adorably cute, though perhaps that was the ears.

"I remember her, the faunus?"

"Indeed. Miss Scarlatina is years older than the rest of her teammates, yet was not made leader. That puts her in a poor light among the others of her year."

"Is she angry she wasn't made leader?" Jaune queried, not having expected that of the girl. She didn't look like she had the capability of being angry at anything. She had looked timid in his mind.

"No, Miss Scarlatina has no such arrogance or desire for the position. But the problem comes in how the decision might look to others. An older student; held back and put onto a first year team again… and not even as the leader. It makes her look weak, as though she was held back for incompetence."

"But you said it was an injury." Jaune interrupted, recalling the story about her old team, and how they were actually quite accomplished. Enough so, that they could still manage with just three members.

"Oh, Miss Scarlatina is quite the skilled combatant indeed. But unless she shows such ability, or explains why she was held back. The ostracisation by some of her peers will continue. The matter is only made worse by her heritage as a faunus." The man looked older as he said that, his hand coming to rest on a globe of remnant, softly rotating it.

"She's being discriminated against? Racially?" That was a surprise… least of all since Jaune had been convinced that no one really cared about the faunus. Sure he knew about the faunus wars, but his family had always seemed so uncaring if people had ears or horns, that he had assumed everyone else was the same…

It was also surprising since he was sure if Glynda saw it, the perpetrators would be _killed_.

"Can't we stop it, aren't we supposed to?" He asked uncertainly.

"Can we tell the Grimm to stop, if she is ever in danger?" The man asked back rhetorically with a deep sigh. "This is a combat school Mr Arc. The final school before they are released into the wild world we live in. We cannot afford to hold our punches or pamper people who might not be strong enough to stand up for themselves. If we do… then they will be killed beyond our walls."

Jaune's shoulders slumped, though he could understand the sentiment. It made a certain amount of twisted sense that a combat school would actively encourage the students to solve their own problems, ironically _with_ violence if they thought it best.

"Ah, here." The Headmaster breathed softly, his hands ghosting over the globe until they reached the exact position of Beacon Academy. The name written in deep cursive script. There was a soft click, as the icon pressed inwards, the globe splitting in half as it opened. Jaune looked on in confusion at the fact that there was a secret compartment in a globe of all things.

Sat inside was a single silver thermos flask, which the older man took out carefully, before pouring some coffee into two mugs. Jaune accepted it slowly, letting the heat warm his hands.

"Sometimes a little coffee can help put things in perspective." The Headmaster whispered softly, as the two of them took a deep drink in synchrony. The effects this time were muted, but still drove the air from Jaune's lungs in an explosive sigh, taking with it all stress and worried he had first felt. Class had been great… Peter had been great… the Grimm had been great…. Those legs had been very great…

"Could the student counsellor help Velvet?" The words escaped his lips before his mind had processed them, the heavenly coffee giving him the clarity he needed to penetrate all of the Headmaster's subtle word games. He felt as though he could smell music being written, and feel the touch of atoms fusing.

The Headmaster turned to him, smiled softly, before clicking their mugs together in silent understanding.

"He could." Was the reverent answer.

It was work. More than he had wanted or anticipated, since he was nothing but a fraudulent liar playing at being a teacher. But he had managed to help Ruby. His mother had always told him about white lies, the little ones she gave to make him feel better. Dad was fine, the mission was just late… the dentist wouldn't hurt, sure it would snow this winter. Lies, but they had calmed him, and he didn't love her any less, because she did it to comfort him.

Could his lies do the same?

"I'll do it."

"Mr Arc." The older man welcomed. "I knew you w-" The moment was broken as the white-haired man's eyes widened imperceptibly behind his glasses, before he slammed the globe shut with a sudden lurch.

"Ozpin…" The unmistakeable voice of Glynda Goodwitch murmured as she strode up beside Jaune, her face was confused, a clipboard of notes clutched loosely to her breast. "What are you doing?"

One of the most powerful men in Remnant stared at her, before spinning the globe under his hands aggressively, a perfectly nonchalant expression on his face.

"Playing?" He offered uncertainly.

Glynda sighed as she massaged her temples.

* * *

><p><strong>There we go. I don't know, I feel like this chapter is not as good as the others, mainly because it is a filler that <strong>_**needs**_** to be done. There will be a lot more potential for comedy and shenanigans when Jaune becomes a student counsellor. Especially considering the kind of people who might go and use him. **

**Sorry about the lack of any Glynda x Jaune in this chapter, there WILL be more I swear. She will help support him in his counselling soon enough. **

**Yeah I skipped the fight, I really didn't see the point of repeating it again, nothing changed, and what little Jaune did was explained by Ruby.**

**Also Blake doesn't fancy him, again it was just an accident thrown in for the comedy purposes. I also wanted to suggest that the teachers are aware of Velvet's bullying, as Oobleck certainly seems to spot it! But wanted to give a reason for why they hold back from correcting it, and it kind of makes sense. They **_**want**_** people to get violent and solve their own problems, because you cannot talk the Grimm down. Stand up for yourself, or quit. **

**Next Chapter – Oobleck's lesson, racism, and Jaune's first patient. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay. BOOM! Forgive me for I have sinned readership. I have used a timeskip! But wait! It's just a day… and it only skips Oobleck's class because I didn't want to cover it all again!**

**Originally I had planned to write Oobleck's history class with Jaune there, but his input was so little, and the repeated lines were so numerous from the show that it just felt boring to read. As such I've skipped that day, assume it all pretty much happens the same- and that said class was on a Friday.**

**So now we're moving onto newer and exciting things, and once again I must thank you all for your reviews. I actually got a lot of ideas from the reviewers, which is nice. Props to Curious Viewer, for his idea on Jaune's training, which I have adopted. **

**And I'm sure a lot of people calling for a certain femme fatale will be glad to see her play a part earlier than expected. Also my Waifu… my most favourite character EVER. **

**On a side note, readers of my other fic will know I am penning out a third at the moment, the details of which are on my profile if you are interested. I will be finishing 5 chapters or so before releasing it, so I can stay on top of all three fics. If you're interested, or have any thoughts to offer feel free to pm me, or tack them on the end of a review here.**

**P.s. One Good Turn chapter is at the beta's now. Expect it soon.**

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><p>Chapter 6 – Just another criminal<p>

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><p>Jaune looked around nervously as he made his way through the streets of Vale. Crowds of people were making their way back and forth as they enjoyed the early Saturday morning, but he couldn't discount the possibility of students coming down to explore the city on their first official weekend. Not that he was doing anything illegal of course… he was just meeting someone who was… yeah, okay never mind, it was probably illegal.<p>

_This is where I met him last time._ Jaune thought to himself as he reserved a small table in the innocuous looking diner. It didn't escape his notice that the place was absolutely deserted of people. _He said to come here and order a drink, and that someone would take me to him…_

"Can I help you sir?" A suited man asked, looking pointedly overdressed for a simple waiter. Jaune wanted to weep at the general lack of subtlety.

"I'd like a latte." Jaune ordered with a sigh.

"We don't serve latte." The suited man replied back in annoyance. Jaune simply rolled his eyes, and repeated the order he had been told to give.

"I was told to ask for a latte… look is Roman here?"

"Uh, yeah sure he's in the back." The man grunted in slight confusion, jerking his thumb towards a door behind the counter. Sighing, Jaune climbed to his feet and walked to the door, wondering if the man would make any effort to stop him. Instead the suited goon just watched, with a vaguely confused expression on his face.

The door opened up not to a kitchen as might have been expected, but instead showed a flight of stairs leading down into the darkness. The last time he had been here they'd done their business at the entrance to these stairs. The man coming up to meet him just long enough to hand over the documents and enforce some simple tips Jaune would have to follow to make sure they worked. Now though, it looked like he was about to go down the rabbit hole.

_Welp. No time for hesitation._

Despite the darkness suggesting a long descent, it was really nothing more than a hundred steps or so down into the basement. And as he entered through the small opening, he could see that they were now in some kind of underground warehouse. A number of maps, televisions and couches were strewn about the area by the stairs however, while suited men wandered around in the background like little ants in a hive.

It was an honest-to-goodness underground base. That was pretty cool.

"Hey kiddo!" A familiar voice called from the left, drawing Jaune's attention to an orange-haired man who was lounging on a wide couch, his feet propped up on a coffee table in front of him. One gloved hand waved at him as Jaune sighed and made his way closer. "Take a seat kid." The man gestured to the single-seater opposite him.

"Thanks for agreeing to help me Roman." Jaune greeted as he sat down, only to leap forwards in surprise as he felt his rear end connect with something definitely _not_ made of leather.

"Bu-wha!?" Jaune stammered in shock as he looked behind him to see that he had almost sat on a petite girl who was in the seat… but it had been completely empty when he looked at it! It had totally been empty!

"Yeah, can you avoid crushing my partner, I kind of need her." The orange-haired man grinned, as Jaune quickly shuffled to a different seat and sat down. "Also kid, no need to thank me. This is going to be a business transaction after all."

"That's fine with me. What do you want?" Jaune asked as his attention drifted back to the girl he had almost sat on. Not only was she one of the most petite women he had ever met, but she also had the most incredible hair he'd ever seen. Three colours in total, a mixture of pink, brown and cream! She was also incredibly beautiful, in a frail sort of way.

"First of all." Roman interrupted, as he gestured towards Jaune with one hand. "Why don't you tell me why you need your aura unlocking? I thought you'd get that handled once you were a student."

"Yes well. There was a bit of a complication there." Jaune admitted with a heavy wince. "You see the records were good, a little _too_ good… I've been taken on as a teacher."

There was a long silence after the words, the orange-haired criminal blinked slowly, as though he couldn't quite understand what he was looking at. Across from him, the young girl watched on, a definite look of amusement in her eyes. Wait, were those mismatched colours?

"Wait wait wait!" The flamboyant man echoed as his feet finally came off the table as he leaned forwards. "You, someone with no training… are now a teacher?" Jaune nodded miserably, knowing full well what would come next.

True to form, the man burst out into uproarious laughter, slamming his hand down on his knee as the mirth proved too much for him to handle. Jaune even noticed the girl shaking in her seat, one hand held in a fist before her mouth – even though no noise came forth.

"Oh… oh man, that's rich. Only you kid. Only you." It took him a few more seconds to calm down, while Jaune just sat there glumly, not at all finding the situation he was in that amusing. In the end though, the man did manage to pull himself back together, though Jaune didn't miss him sharing a quick grin with the girl.

"Tell you what, I won't ask for lien over this kid. You can just owe a favour, yeah?"

"Sure." Jaune agreed miserably. He would rather have handled this with money since he was now being paid quite well, but he had a feeling that Roman had something else in mind. Especially since he now knew Jaune was an official teacher at Beacon. "But nothing that might cause any danger to the students."

"Little kids aren't really my forte." The man joked. "I'm not going to want anything regarding them. Now get over here, I need to be touching you for this." Jaune stood up and moved over, moving to sit by the man, only to pause when he instead gestured for him to kneel down. As Jaune did so, the man placed a hand on his shoulder and began to intone.

"For it is in our infamy that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of deceitful glory to rise above all others. Infinite in potential and unbound by laws, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, set thee free." The words pounded into Jaune's being as he felt something burst forth from within him, shining a dull white on the nearby area as he looked down at his hands, to see them now surrounded with white light. The hand holding his shoulder released him, causing Jaune to look back up at the man, who for the briefest moment looked a little tired. A second later and the fatigue was gone, replaced with an arrogant smirk.

"That's some big aura reserves you got there kid. Makes me wonder if the longer you wait to unlock them, the larger they grow."

Jaune barely paid attention, too busy experiencing what felt like pure energy now coursing through his veins. Was this what all hunters felt like? This heady feeling of power and untapped ability?

"Thank you Roman." He replied simply. Unsure what else he could say for this boon. No, not a boon… a debt, that he would be expected to repay.

"No problem kid, like I said. It's business. But you know…" The man paused here, leaning forwards to give Jaune a serious look that had him almost sweating. "A bit of aura isn't going to be enough to fool those people up at Beacon. Not unless you think you can fight on the level of the other teachers…that is… trained hunters."

He winced. He hadn't forgotten that… not at all. He'd just been so busy trying to solve things one at a time that he hadn't reached that issue yet. But the man was right. What happened if he ever was in a situation where he needed to fight? Be it versus a Grimm or a student, or even another teacher?

"I know. I've been reading up. Training with your aura activated lets you push yourself further since any muscle damage repairs easier. I'll have to work hard now to catch up." Even as he said it though, he knew it would be a near impossible task. Maybe in the space of a year or two he could catch up with the tuition achieve in four years at Signal, if he worked his hardest. But there was no way he could delay fighting for that long…

"Why not get some one-to-one training with a professional?"

"The professionals would be Hunters and the teachers wouldn't they? I can't go to them for training unless the information gets back to Beacon." He wasn't sure what kind of information network the hunters had, if any. But obviously he couldn't really go further than Vale for training anyway, and every hunter here probably knew the staff at Beacon, if not personally, then by reputation.

"How about someone less legal?" The criminal offered. No doubt another favour he would need to pay back, but what other options did he have?

"Who do you have in mind?" He sighed out instead.

"Neo." The man pointed with a smirk towards the small girl on the other seat, who looked equally as surprised as Jaune himself, as she looked at the two of them over a bowl of ice cream. Neopolitan flavoured from the look of- Oh, well if that was a codename then he supposed it was pretty apt.

The bowl descended to the table as the girl cocked her head to one side and pointed at her own face in question. Despite being accused of stupidity, Jaune wasn't that slow off the mark, and could at least guess that the girl either couldn't, or didn't, speak.

"Yes you Neo." Roman urged with a small grin. "No amount of training is going to get this guy up to full Hunter level. But if we can focus on getting him dodging even slightly like you, then he can buy himself time to learn the rest." At this he turned back to Jaune, pointing at him. "Focus on defending and dodging, wear them down before going in for the finishing blow. In fact, your final blow is going to be so pathetic that if you don't finish them, they'll probably figure your style is fake."

"Will that really work?" Jaune had to ask. He supposed it made sense to focus his training on one aspect, since it cut down the time needed by half. But that would make him pretty screwed if he couldn't manage his defence properly.

"It's your best shot kid. I'll give you some offensive tips and tricks, but anyone can be worn down given time. Any brats you might face at Beacon will be even worse since they don't learn to pace themselves. All flash, and no sustenance these kids." He shook his head while mumbling about someone called `Red` of all things. "Anyway, since Neo will be the one teaching you, you'll owe Neo a favour for this instead. Neo, do _not_ use it on ice-cream."

The girl in question crossed her arms and pouted, one leg whipping across the other as she took a defiant pose.

"Um… so how are we going to do this?" Jaune asked uncertainly. Instead of answering, Roman simply let a slow and lazy grin creep across his features.

"Neo. Beat him into dust and I'll buy you some of those chocolate wafer cones for your ice-cream." Jaune sighed at the ridiculous comment and looked towards the girl to see what she thought, only in time to see a white boot connect with his face.

* * *

><p>"Better kid." Roman cheered from the couch he was still lazing on, right as Jaune slammed painfully into the ground. Practice had taught him better than to lay where he landed, and he rolled away just in time to avoid Neo's foot crashing into the floor. Oh yeah, he'd learned the first time that this girl didn't really know what mercy was. If a person was on the floor, that just made them an easier target.<p>

Looking up from where she was crouched, a pout came to the girl's lips as she realised his escape, before she dashed towards him faster than he was actually able to climb to his feet, kicking his legs apart so his face fell back down to the floor. Another desperate roll avoided what seemed to be her favourite finishing move. And this time he had enough sense to climb to his feet as fast as he was able, rather than watch the little monster.

The training, if it could be called that had gone on for over two hours now. Something he would have found impossible before due to his stamina reserves. Seemed like his aura was working overtime to keep himself going. That was pretty lucky too, considering if it wasn't unlocked then he was sure he would be nursing a broken nose and jaw from her first attack. The brutality of the moves had not decreased since then.

_Even her typical kicks use an almost unfair application of high heels!_ He thought to himself as he weaved between her legs, using his shield and armguard to knock aside any further attacks. She seemed to favour kicks, since she wasn't actually armed with anything, but she was so quick at resetting and chambering her kicks that he didn't have any time to counter-attack! Also the heels of her boots helped to focus all the force into a single sodding stiletto!

His eyes widened as he ducked below a flying roundhouse kick, partly amazed that such a short girl could reach his face. Her follow-up heel drop landed on his shield with a mighty clanging noise, even as the girl's hands were visible below it, propping her up in a handstand while she flipped backwards.

Jaune didn't bother drawing his sword. There was no way he could actually attack her, apart from the fact that was insanely fast, she was also attacking without a weapon and this was sparring more focused on teaching him to dodge. The other fact was that he was actually finding it easier to block and deflect her blows with his free hand, using his metal plate on the back of his gloves.

"Two scoops if he eats dust in the next ten seconds!" Roman called out tauntingly, prompting Jaune to sigh as the girl disappeared instantly, before re-appearing inside his guard. He still tried to throw himself to one side, but buckled over her knee as she blocked his escape, before grunting painfully as her other leg snapped over his back, and she was able to flip him over, just using her hands as a pivot. "Oh man, this is gold."

Jaune struggled to push himself off the floor, his tongue probing his teeth to see if any were loose. Luckily it looked like his aura was still protecting him.

"I don't see you fighting her!" Jaune called out in a useless effort to shut the laughing man up. The training had been pretty useful so far. Not that he had come any closer to actually beating Neo… in fact that still seemed impossible. But he had definitely improved in his ability to get out the way! Now when he tried to dodge Neo, he only got badly hurt… instead of outright slaughtered in a single attack!

That was an improvement, right?

"Take a break Neo, you did well." Roman chortled as he climbed to his feet and picked up his cane. "I said I'll teach you a few tricks kiddo. You might want to draw your sword for this one." The man walked up so that he was stood a few feet from Jaune, resting arrogantly with both hands atop his metal cane.

Jaune groaned to himself as he drew his blade. Trust his big mouth. The way they spoke and acted pretty much told him that Roman was the superior to Neo, which probably meant he was about twice as strong.

_Congratulations Jaune, your mouth has gotten you in trouble again!_

He adopted a nervous guard position, with his shield held out in front of him, and the sword poised behind in a thrusting motion.

"Cute kid. But I want you to attack me, and I'll teach you some tricks." The bowler-hat wearing man bragged. "Come at me as best you can, I can handle it."

Jaune shrugged, rolling his shoulders slightly to help dispel some of the pain he still felt from sparring with Neo. He held no thoughts in his mind that he might be successful against Roman. The question was how long he dragged out the beating. In that sense, it was best just to get it over with, and hopefully learn something from it.

"Rarghh!" Jaune shouted as he charged forwards, swinging Crocea Mors in a wide arc. It wasn't the most elegant of attacks, but it was aimed at centre mass, and would probably force the man to block it.

The blade of his sword screeched against the metal cane as Roman blocked, but the force behind the strike seemed to catch the criminal off-guard, knocking him down onto one knee as Jaune shouted out in victory and chambered another strike. His eyes widened as Roman grinned up at him, right before a handful of sand and grit splattered into his wide blue eyes.

"Arghh!" Jaune screamed in distress, the burning sensation in his eyes causing the world to swim and blur as tears mixed with grit. Angrily he scrubbed at his vision, clearing it just enough to make out the blurry figure of Roman approaching him, his cane moving towards Jaune's left. He slapped it aside with his sword, intent on getting his own back on the crook. Just in time to receive a punishing punch to the face, which knocked him clean off his feet.

"And that's why you don't keep your eyes on the birdy!" The man laughed, as Jaune struggled on his knees to clear his eyes. A boot kicked into his ribs a second later, knocking him onto his back so he was staring up at the ceiling. Jaune made to push himself up, but paused as a boot gently rested on his crotch. Like any man, he froze instantly.

"Relax kid, trainings over." The boot was removed, as Jaune let out a sigh of relief and climbed to his feet. A hand patted him on the back as Roman laughed and escorted him back to the seating area, letting him fall down into one with a sigh. "You pick up any tricks?" He quipped.

"One or two…" Jaune grumbled out angrily, still rubbing at his eyes. "Dirty tricks."

"Seems my lesson worked then." He laughed, as Jaune sighed. Neo handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully drank of. "It's a lesson to learn there. A fight is about causing as much pain as possible to the other party, as quick as possible. You don't have the time to fight honourably… or the ability."

"I see what you mean." Jaune accepted with a sigh. It wasn't how he had ever imagined himself fighting, but Roman was correct when he said he didn't have the time to learn anything better. He would need to do whatever was necessary to win. Even if that meant doing something dishonourable like that…

"This won't be enough training though, so Neo might pop in every now and then to help you out. Don't worry, she can find her way into Beacon without any trouble." Whoah, what, wait?

"Won't that be dangerous! Neither of us can afford to be caught." Jaune argued… he appreciated the effort Roman was going through to help him out, but he wanted any signs of his more illegal dealings to be far away from Beacon.

"Relax, Neo's an unknown at the moment. If anyone asks just say she's an old friend from Vacuo. And she lost her voice due to the trauma of losing your school." Jaune nodded uncertainly, even as Neo pantomimed crying and swooning in apparently agony.

It wasn't very convincing.

"Right… sure." Jaune accepted with a sigh, he supposed it wouldn't be too much of a risk… If it was, then they wouldn't be risking themselves doing it. And they _were_ the professionals after all… "I should go though, I need to pick up some books before I head back to Beacon."

"Sure thing. Good luck Professor." Roman taunted as Jaune turned to leave, Neo waved at him as he left.

Pain aside, the trip had definitely been valuable, solving two of his biggest problems, or at least providing a plan for solving them. He would just need to keep training in his own time. Reaching the steps he began to climb up them, only to pause as he noticed a figure ahead of him.

"Oh, my apologies." He offered as he stepped back down, waiting for the figure to step out of the darkness.

"Not a problem." A husky female voice replied easily, as a single smooth leg came into view, heel clicking on the floor as a second leg followed. His eyes trailed up the creamy legs, which soon disappeared into a dark red eastern-style dress with gold decoration. Finally his eyes followed the contours of her body up over her tempting cleavage and bare shoulders, up to her golden eyes, one nearly hidden behind a lock of black hair.

The woman stepped away from the staircase, bringing herself close to him as she placed a single hand on his chest to steady herself. He didn't move away, enjoying the strangely hot feeling, even as she paused to look into his eyes with an almost smouldering gaze. She broke contact first, stepping past him as her fingers trailed across his chest to leave him.

As she swayed away, Jaune forced his eyes to remain forwards as he climbed the stairs back to the surface.

A definite fifty-six out of ten. What the Hell was up with the women in this town!?

* * *

><p>"Oh he's hilarious." Roman chortled softly to Neo as the two of them reclined on their seats, the latter having helped herself to some more ice cream. Roman made a mental note to secure the cones he had promised her, as childish as it seemed. Going back on a deal with Neo was <em>not<em> advisable.

"…" The girl silently pointed towards where the kid had left from.

"Whenever you want to train him, it would be handy for you to have a few favours owed to you. It's never too soon to start building your own contacts."

"…" The girl slyly tilted her head, glancing at him from the corner of one eye. Roman grinned.

"Of course while you're there it wouldn't hurt for you to have a look around, maybe map out the place." The girl grinned back at him, the two of them on the same wave length. Sure he had primarily helped the kid because it was entertaining, and it didn't cost him anything. But now that he was a teacher at Beacon?

Well… that had potential, didn't it?

"Roman." A sultry female voice spoke suddenly, bursting Roman's happy place almost instantly, despite the faux-smile that spread across his features.

"Cinder!" He cheered back, before pointing at Neo. "Neo!" He echoed, adding a little extra sarcasm for good measure. "Coffee table!"

The coffee table went up in flames instantly, causing him to curse as he patted the small flames from his shoes.

"No." The woman hissed. "No coffee table. I'm not paying you to sit around Roman, not when there is still plenty of dust to be acquired."

Roman sighed as he mournfully looked down at the small burn marks on his shoes. It was barely noticeable… they would have to go. No way could he appear on the news with damaged clothing, think of the reputation! _Can't even be bothered to dress up for a robbery!_ _Vale's least stylish criminal…_Never!

"We _are_ working Cinder. I don't exactly go out into Vale at midday on a weekend to rob shops. That might be a little obvious don't you think?" He knew he was playing a dangerous game here though; Cinder had made it clear that she had need of his services, but would have no compunctions removing him if he became a hassle. But Roman was no fool either. If she was so eager and willing to remove him now, why keep him around when it was all finished either?

"Pray tell me then Roman. What _were_ you doing here?"

"Meeting with one of my contacts." Roman answered instantly. "I have to keep my information network up to date after all. They don't exactly advertise dust deliveries."

"That man then…" The woman paused, one finger coming up to artfully tap at her chin. "The tall blonde. He is your contact?"

"He is." Roman agreed, a small uncomfortable feeling beginning to form in his gut. It wasn't that he was particularly worried for the kid, he was fond of him. But hardly going to risk his life for him… no, the concern was more that Cinder might test the kid just to judge Roman. And there was no way he wanted his future safety laying on the shoulders of _him!_

"He didn't back away from my gaze…" The woman murmured to herself, prompting Roman to share a quick look with Neo. The silent girl shrugged. "He is an interesting one. What is it that he provides for you Roman?"

"Information on Beacon." Roman replied as honestly as he could. The kid _had_ told him he was the new Professor there, so that was information, sort of… He winced when Cinder's eyes lit up.

"That will be most useful then Roman. You've done very well. Perhaps when you next see him, you'll think to invite me along as well." It was not a question, but an order. To which Roman nodded uncertainly.

As the dangerous woman turned and left them, Roman slumped in his seat, finally letting his uncertainty show. This was bad, he knew he shouldn't have shacked up with this broad.

"Neo, plans changed." Roman whispered as the girl leaned forwards. "Work the kid to the bone. He's going to need it."

* * *

><p>Jaune strained to look over the top of the small pile of books he was carrying in his arms, the counter of the shop being visible in the distance, with a bearded man with an amused grin on his face watching on. Why didn't bookshops have baskets like the markets!? Well, probably because no one else came to buy upwards of twenty books at once.<p>

He was lucky he'd been paid his first month in advance to account for any supplies he might need. He just hadn't expected to be spending it all on books for a counselling job he hadn't know about at all.

That was pretty much his life at the moment though, he supposed.

It was while he was bumbling his way towards the counter though that his hip banged painfully into a wooden chair, causing him to stumble forwards as the books clattered loudly to the floor.

"Aw man." He moaned to himself, going down onto one knee as he began to collect them, only to notice another hand helping him. A quick glance up the bare appendage showed the bare shoulder of one of his students. Or rather, Beacon's. "Miss Belladonna?" He queried a little uncertainly. He knew her name began with a B, and that sounded close enough.

"Hello Professor." The girl greeted back with a small smile, as she helped him collect his books.

"What are you doing here?" He blurted out in surprise, only to wince slightly at her raised eyebrow. Yeah, bookstore, that should have been obvious.

"I wanted to find a good bookstore in Vale on my first weekend." The girl shrugged, piling a few more of his books, before holding one out in front of her. "Teen Psychology: Understanding trauma?" She read, in slight confusion.

Jaune laughed nervously, accepting the book and placing it on his pile.

"Ah yeah, I suppose I can tell you." He wasn't sure what plans Ozpin had in place to make his new position a known fact, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to have some information given out to the students directly? "Headmaster Ozpin wants me to act as a Student Counsellor, due to our similar ages. I'll be available to help students with any non-school related issues they might have."

"Is that so?" The girl echoed rhetorically, picking up a few more books and scanning the titles. He'd picked up a wide variety, from trauma to general psychology, all the way through to mental illnesses that could manifest. "This is heavy reading."

"Ah well. I want to be as well-informed as possible if I'm going to be helping people." He chuckled nervously. Because, of course, he didn't know anything about the struggles they actually went through in any way…

"That's probably a good idea." The girl accepted though, handing him a few more, before she paused at one of the last books. "Understanding faunus? You have an interest in the faunus Professor Arc?"

"Ah well." He shrugged as he climbed to his feet with the books now more firmly secured in his arms. "Beacon accepts all aspiring hunters, human or faunus. I thought it might be best to better understand those I might help… also considering the discrimination they face. Well… I thought I might have some faunus that could use help."

The black haired girl looked at him with no real emotion on her face for a few moments, making him shuffle nervously, before a small smile broke onto her lips.

"I think that sounds wonderful." She complimented, making Jaune blush at the words. "There aren't many humans willing to help the faunus like that."

"Ah well." Jaune laughed the embarrassment off as best he could. "Maybe you should be praised as well then Miss Belladonna. There aren't many your age who would be so open-minded either."

"Blake." The girl interrupted as she climbed to her feet and handed the last book to him. "You can call me Blake." The young student gave him one last enigmatic smile before she left him, walking through the door of the shop with a pleased expression on her face.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for picking me up Glynda." Jaune gratefully offered as he sat on the Bullhead seat next to the blonde woman. "I didn't expect to buy so many books."<p>

The woman in question merely shook her head in mild exasperation, before picking up one of his bags to rummage through the books he had bought.

"I see Ozpin managed to convince you to take the Counsellor position then. How did he go about convincing you?" Her green eyes scanned over the titles of the books, occasionally nodding to show her approval of his choices. Jaune simply leant his head back on the sea, enjoying the chance to rest his tired body.

"He just showed me examples of people I could help. I suppose if you want to be cynical you could say he played on my emotions." Not that knowing the fact had helped him in any way. It was one thing to know that someone was guilt-tripping you into something – but another altogether to not feel the guilt.

"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing." The other teacher offered as she looked at him through her glasses. "It shows you care greatly for others." Jaune fought back a blush as he looked away from her expression, feeling inordinately pleased despite himself. Despite that, the woman did notice. "You don't handle praise very well, do you Mr Arc?" The tone was neutral, though he had the distinct feeling that she was actually trying to tease him.

"I never received much of it." He admitted without thinking, before wincing slightly at his error. His records had suggested he was a veritable exemplar of the Hunter ideal, of course he would have received praise. Luckily though, the woman didn't seem to catch on to that.

"That's unfortunate." She replied after a moment's silence, before hesitatingly laying a hand on his shoulder. If he was unused to receiving praise, then it seemed she was not particularly used to touching people either. "I want you to know that we appreciate your being here. Port, Oobleck and I. And I was truly thankful for your handling the graveyard shift for me Jaune. Even if I didn't make it obvious."

"Thank you." Jaune smiled back, doing his best to convey that he appreciated it, but that she didn't need to worry about him. He had the sinking feeling she was assuming he was still broken or damaged from his perceived _trauma_ of losing his last school. "I did that because I wanted to help you though. You look like you do enough work here, without being asked to handle that too."

"Thank you Jaune." The woman smiled at him, her stern visage disappearing for a moment as she suddenly looked more natural and radiant, before that frightening, though still beautiful, stern mask was back in place.

It cracked a few moments later though, a dark blush taking over her cheeks, as she quickly placed a book back into the shopping bag and left it on the ground. She didn't bother looking through anymore, and Jaune was too tired to ask why.

* * *

><p>Blake almost skipped all the way back to their team dorm. Today had been a good day. Not only had she gotten to Tukson's on the very day the next volume of Ninjas of Love had been released, but she had also bumped into their new teacher – and been pleasantly surprised indeed.<p>

He wanted to help the faunus. Him. A human, wanted to do what he could to help the faunus. Sure it was just the students of Beacon Academy, but it was a start! It proved that there was potential for the human and faunus to coexist peacefully, without the need for violence.

Maybe Ruby was right about him after all? Maybe she was just becoming so used to being disappointed with people, that she wasn't giving them the chances they deserved. She would give him the proper respect, if only for how far he was willing to go.

Not that the book would be of much use to him… their mistreatment aside, there really was no real difference between faunus and humans. So it certainly wasn't like they had to have different treatments. And contrary to the racist remarks from some people, they didn't need to go to _vets_ either!

She was still becoming amazed at how brilliant Beacon really was. The teachers were kind, with Oobleck and Arc both now showing blatant support for the faunus. Her partner had quickly become her best friend – which was weird considering how different their personalities were. And even though her team contained a Schnee, of all people! She was already beginning to consider them her family.

"Hey Blakey!" Yang greeted as she came through the door, shopping bag in hand. "Is that the latest in your porn series?" Of course, there were downsides to having Yang as a partner…

"It's not porn." Blake hissed in displeasure, flushing slightly as Ruby and Weiss stopped doing their work to watch the upcoming spectacle. Blake was the one who liked to watch other people or entertainment… When had she _become_ the entertainment?

"Oh I bet!" Yang crowed. Reaching for the bag with grabby hands, while Blake did her best to keep her away. The two of them wrestled angrily for a few moments, Ruby shouting her support (for both of them) as Blake strained to keep the bag closed.

"Nooo!" Blake whined as the thin plastic bag ripped, Yang taking her chance to steal the book from inside and hold it aloft as though it were some kind of priceless relic.

Which Ninjas of Love was.

"Formative Behavioural Psychology, Pavlov and you?" Weiss read lazily as Yang waved the book back and forth, causing the entire group to freeze. Yang brought the book before her own eyes, before looking at Blake with a disappointed expression.

Blake meanwhile had frozen. Where was Ninjas of Love: Master of Ninja Wire? She knew she had picked up the right book, because she'd been reading it when she bumped into Prof-

Blake's face drained of all colour, even as her ears beneath her bow flattened against her scalp.

A low whine of distress escaped her lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh Blake, why do I do this to you!? Is it because your reactions are so funny, I don't even know. Also a little more Glynda for those who were missing her! I think she is going to become a real competitor for Jaune here. Though she is likely to have some warped thoughts on what it is Jaune enjoys now. Though considering her propensity for whip-based weaponry, maybe it'll work to his advantage.<strong>

**On a side note, Neo will not be I am afraid. I love her, she is my waifu. But it just wouldn't fit the plot I have for her in here. Though she will flirt and tease him nonetheless, she will not fall for him. But she and Roman both find Jaune to be comedy gold right now, and so Neo will certainly be stirring things up wherever she can. And yes Jaune does not realise who Roman is. Ruby didn't until she was on the dust plane to Beacon, and Jaune seems about twice as naive in some cases, so it makes sense he doesn't read the newspapers... other than for comics.**

**Cinder though, oh my. Jaune you attract all the wrong attention. Stop looking so badass when you're leering at girls. The more astute viewers might recognise her "hand on chest" and "smouldering gaze" thing as her threatening to ATTACK him. Not that Jaune would realise, and so his not reacting makes him look very swag. **

**Ignorance is not bliss Jaune….**

**The chapter is a little short, but did come out in just two weeks as I am trying to get my two fics timed for release at the same time again. Obviously the last Professor Arc chapter came out awfully late. **


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